Heritage of the Wolf: Salvation, Part 2
by The Cool Kat
Summary: On the day after the serum run, Balto begins his new life with Jenna, but their newfound happiness is shattered when an old foe returns to exact his revenge against the wolf-dog and his lover, and will kill anyone who gets in his way.
1. Chapter 1: Final Days

**_Chapter One:_**

**_Final Days_**

**_Author's Note:_**

Hello everyone, this is The Cool Kat again, along with the second installment of the "**_Heritage of the Wolf_**" series. The name for this series actually came from both the names of a unfinished Cyberwulfe story, and the title of James Horner theme from the movie.

In terms of production, I hadn't expected for it to take me so long to finish writing Part 2, but I've been busy all month with school and with homework, and it's been slowing me down. Over 85 pages long, I'm proud to say that Part 2 is significantly shorter than Part 1, which was over 125 pages long. And even though Part 1 was an extended remake of Cyberwulfe's "**_Puppy Love_**", Part 2 is a story of my own design that continues where "**_Balto_**" and "**_Puppy Love_**" left off.

Like the summary says, "**_Salvation, Part 2_**" deals with the aftermath of the serum run, along with the positive and negative impacts it will have on Balto and Jenna's new relationship. Imagine, if you could have the greatest night of the life, where you finally get your dream girl / dream guy, and make all your dreams come true, how could you ever go back to your normal life again after that? The answer is, you couldn't. Life would never same again, no matter hard you wanted it to be.

Part 2 is written in pretty much the same format as Part 1, it contains the same "**_Law & Order_**" styled time cards, several vocal songs by the rock band Remy Zero, and former country duo Kix Brooks & Ronnie Dunn, along with more of Murray Gold's tracks from "**_Doctor Who_**" (including new themes such as "**_The Mad Man With A Box_**", and "**_Amy in the TARDIS_**").

Before we get started, I'd like to warn you about something. As you can probably guess from the title, this is a continuation of my previous story, "**_Heritage of the Wolf: Salvation, Part 1_**", and unless you've already read Part 1, Part 2 will not make any sense to you at all. But if you have already read Part 1, then feel free to go ahead and start reading this chapter. Well, after 6 whole weeks, I'm sure you've all waited long enough, so I'll just cut my boring monologue short, and let you get on with reading, "**_Salvation, Part 2_**":

**((()-()))**

**_Nome, Alaska, 12:00 P.M. Tuesday, February 3, 1925:_**

Balto took several deep breaths, mentally preparing himself for what he knew had to be done. Balto had always known that this moment would come, sooner of later, it was inevitable. The doomed wolf-dog had never been one to believe in destiny. He firmly believed that fate and spirits were mostly nonsense, stories that the humans told each other to keep their children entertained at night. But this was something Balto always knew _had_ to happen, it had only been a matter of time. Ever since he had first met his challenger, he had known that the dog hated him to the deepest depths of hell. Balto didn't know why the dog hated him so much, but at the moment it wasn't important anymore. All that was important was that he knew the dog had been dreaming about this day for a long time, and so had he.

But what neither Balto or his fighter hadn't considered, was the thought that Jenna would be there with them during their final battle. Balto turned back to look at the husky. Jenna looked ready enough, her teeth were bared and ready for action. But Balto could tell she was just as worried as him about the outcome of this potentially deadly fight as he was. There was a chance that they would both perish that day. And Balto knew neither one of them could live without the other, should one of them die during the battle. Neither one knew much about fighting, but their opponent had been getting into dog fights for years.

Balto threw one last glance at Jenna, his beloved. He would gladly die for her, a thousand times over. And then Balto had a grim thought. If this truly was his last day on Earth, he was glad that he had finally admitted his feelings to the husky. Jenna noticed his glance, and stared back at him.

"Are you ready?", Balto asked.

"I was born ready", she replied, growling, and mentally preparing herself too.

Balto took one last deep breath to gather his strength. In a relatively quick process, but slow moving to him, Balto bore his fangs, and his eyes glowed in a mixture of both anger and anticipation.

"Then let's do this!", Balto shouted.

Using only a fraction of his new wolfish strength, Balto braced himself against the door of the Boiler Room, and pushed inward on it. The door immediately gave way, and landed on the concrete floor with a loud thud. With no barrier to block it, sunlight poured in through the open doorway, and lit up the entire room.

Balto and Jenna stared inside, already knowing who to look for. They didn't have to look for long, because the Boiler Room was completely empty, all except for one dog. The other dogs had all fled as soon as they had seen him coming.

The black and white malamute inside grinned when he saw the couple arrive, for he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. To kill the wolf-dog he hated the most in the entire world. Steele smiled in extreme anticipation. He knew that only one dog could walk away from this fight. And everyone in Nome already knew who the victor would be.

"Hello Bingo, long time, no see", Steele sneered.

Standing up on all four feet, Steele eagerly sauntered forward, poised to kill.

"**_Doctor Who XI_**" by Murray Gold begins.


	2. Chapter 2: The Calm Before The Storm

**_Chapter Two:_**

**_The Calm Before The Storm_**

**_24 Hours Earlier, Nome, Alaska, 7:00 A.M. Monday, February 2, 1925_**:

The clock tower in Nome, Alaska tolled 7:00 A.M, and the loud ringing noise echoed across the entire village, letting the townspeople know that it was time to awaken to a brand new day. But this day was different than all the other ones, there was a whole new atmosphere in the air - joy, relief, and total exhaustion. The people in Nome hadn't slept at all the night before, but instead, spent the whole night watching over their sick children in the hospital. The children were still rapidly recovering from Diphtheria, thanks to one very special dog, who wasn't really a dog at all.

The bright glowing orb known as the Sun (or Sol in some cultures), slowly rose over the Alaskan horizon, lighting up the morning sky, and illuminating the entire forest. The sun slowly crept over the snowy ground with each passing minute, before finally reaching the old beached trawler outside of Nome, the home of the wolf-dog named Balto for the past five years.

The ultraviolet light from the sun's rays slowly crept through the cracks on top of the cabin's roof, and onto a sleeping Balto's face. The sun quickly covered his entire face, seeping directly into his closed eyes. Even though his eyes were still closed, and he was still fast asleep, the sun crept through the hybrid's eyelids, irritating his corneas. After a while, the annoying stinging sensation in his eyes slowly stirred Balto into consciousness. And shortly after that, the wolf-dog's brain slowly began to function again, allowing him conscious thoughts, and beginning a brand new day.

His first instinct was to open his eyes and survey his surroundings, the very same thing a wolf would if he was sleeping in the wild. Balto yawned, breathing out the old stale air that had collected in his throat, and then inhaled, allowing his lungs to fill up with some fresh morning oxygen. With his newly heightened senses, he continued to survey his surroundings. His next instinct was to stand up, after lying down all night asleep, his legs were stiff and tense. Balto slowly stood up, and stretched his legs. He groaned silently as he felt his bones stretched and bended. It was a slow process, and for some reason that he couldn't remember, the wolf-dog was completely exhausted and felt like he hadn't slept in days.

Now that his early morning needs were satisfied, the part of his brain enabling conscious thought jump-started and his mind began to wander in thought. This morning was somehow different than his other regular mornings, he could feel it, sense it almost. The first thing Balto noticed was that he didn't see, hear, or even smell Boris anywhere, the snow goose was always either somewhere else on deck sleeping, or not on the boat at all. Still, this bothered Balto almost as much as the soreness in his muscles, they felt like he had just finished hours of strenuous exercise, which made no sense to him at all. Balto tried to remember the night before, and what he did remember shocked him. The memories came to him rapidly and in quick flashes, like water flowing through a stream.

He first remembered his date with Jenna underneath the hospital, and then competing against Steele the next day so he could be part of the serum run, hearing word of the team Steele was leading being lost in a blizzard, seeing Rosie sick and dying in the hospital along with most of the town's children, departing Nome with Boris and Muk & Luk so he find the lost team, being attacked by an angry grizzly bear, being rescued by Jenna, almost drowning in a frozen lake, finding the lost team, fighting to the death with Steele, getting lost in the forest by Steele's sabotage, falling off a cliff, meeting a white wolf, howling with him (or her), climbing back up the cliff, using his new wolf senses to lead the team through the woods, outrunning an avalanche, charging into Nome victoriously, seeing the children be saved one by one by the doctors of Nome, being swarmed by a whole mob of happy people, reminiscing with Jenna, and at last, kissing Jenna passionately.

Balto immediately snapped back into the present day, gasping for air. All those memories he had just seen, they couldn't possibly be real. There was absolutely no way they could have been real, they were simply too amazing to be real.

"_I must have imagined it_", he reasoned, not willing to accept the truth.

"_But still, what a dream it was_", Balto sighed contently, lying on the floor again.

"_I fought Steele, became a sled dog, saved the town, embraced my wolf, and…_", Balto thought. Balto immediately brought his thoughts to a halt, growling to himself and standing up again. The wolf-dog didn't want to dream too much, it just made returning to the real world everyday all the more painful. What _was_ real, was that Steele was still the lead sled dog - and the town bully, Balto was still his personal punching bag, Jenna still didn't know he existed, and Rosie was still sick with Diphtheria.

At the thought of the little girl, Balto's stomach lurched, and the wolf-dog gasped in fear. Rosie. How much more sick could she be in a few days? The last time he had seen her, she was practically dying, growing weaker and weaker with each minute. Though, wasn't this a part of his dream, seeing Rosie dying and then saving her?

Balto groaned, and then sighed. It was so hard to tell reality from fiction lately, the hybrid couldn't even remember anything from the past few days, nothing except his dream.

But then, one last memory flashed forward, disrupting Balto's worried thoughts, and bringing his whole world to a screeching halt again. He remembered standing before Jenna nervously, with every bone in his body shaking. It was at that moment that Balto had said five words he never thought he'd say.

_"Jenna, will you marry me?", he had asked, hopefully. _

_"Yes, I would have never have dreamed of saying no", Jenna had eventually answered, before Balto had pulled her forward and kissed the husky on the lips._

Balto once again snapped forward to the present, this time having to fight just to be able to breathe. It was then that he knew that everything that had happened in the past week was no dream.

Remembering something else important from the night before, Balto immediately raised his forepaw, feeling his throat. A long gash was directly across his throat, just a few inches from his trachea. Steele had lunged at him and scratched the hybrid's throat during their fight, proving that what had happened the night before was entirely real. But the gash wasn't nearly as long as it had been before, in fact, it seemed close to being healed. But how was that even possible? Without any medical attention, the gash would have taken weeks to heal, and months for the scar to completely disappear. While Balto pondered this thought, another part of his brain was beginning to relax, his mood starting to become more euphoric. He _had_ delivered the medicine back to Nome like he had planned, which meant that Rosie and all the other children of Nome were going to live.

Balto now remembered walking into the hospital and watching as the doctors and nurses administered the serum to their sick patients, saving dozens of lives. And Jenna… he had reluctantly proposed to her just a few hours later… and she had said yes. He was engaged to Jenna. She was going to be his wife. They were going to be together for the rest of their lives. As Balto fully began to process this, his heart leapt, and the hybrid felt like he was on crowd nine.

Much too excited now to keep lying down, Balto stood up on all four feet. As he continued to think about his future life with Jenna, he started walking towards his dog dish. But as he bent over to drink some water out of it, the wolf-dog noticed something strange. Balto quickly lifted up his legs to confirm what he had seen in his reflection. His usually enormous paws now seemed smaller for some reason. It quickly dawned on Balto that his paws weren't smaller, they were now just the same size as his legs. His usually lanky legs were now bigger, longer, and thicker. For the first time, the wolf-dog had muscles. Balto then realized that he felt different, even more different than he had felt the night before. Inside his mouth, he could feel that his teeth were longer now too. His teeth, especially his canines, were now sharpened to a point, almost like wolf fangs. All these changes seemed to have happened over night, which was impossible, wasn't it?

Deciding that he needed a second opinion, Balto stepped out of the cabin, and found that Boris was exactly where the wolf-dog had suspected he would be. The snow goose was now sweeping the main deck with a broom, a strange task that Boris seemed to do every other morning.

"Boris", Balto said hoarsely, having to clear his throat since he hadn't spoken in over four hours.

"Boychic, you're awake!", Boris exclaimed, smiling. The goose quickly threw down his broom, and hugged his adoptive son.

"Where are Muk and Luk?", Balto coughed, noticing the polar bears brothers' absence.

"After you fell asleep last night they both went home, they had a long night, and so did you", Boris explained.

"Yeah, I guess", Balto replied, feeling slightly awkward.

"You should get some more sleep Balto, you only got four hours of sleep last night, and you haven't slept in days", Boris suggested, concerned.

"Boris, I'm fine", Balto argued, though the hybrid knew he was lying.

"Just trust your Uncle Boris on this one Balto", Boris replied.

Balto sighed, and turned back around. Knowing that it would be pointless to try and argue with Boris while he was still so tired, Balto stepped back in the cabin, and laid down on his rug again. Though the wolf-dog knew he would never get any more sleep, not with all the memories of the previous night lingering in his head.

Balto immediately froze, because another memory of the night before had just flashed before his eyes, and this one not nearly as pleasant but much stronger than the others. Balto remembered Steele lunging at him, his eyes blazing, and his face looking absolutely insane. Steele had grabbed onto Jenna's bandana, but it tore in half from Steele's weight, and the evil malamute had fallen off a cliff, plunging to what had seemed like his doom.

Balto's yellow eyes widened. He immediately remembered returning to Nome, and Jenna telling him that Steele was also in town. Steele was still out there somewhere, waiting, obsessed with one thing - killing his arch rival. Balto's breathing slowed, but then started to rapidly speed up as panic washed over him like a fever. He had been busy almost the entire morning worrying about Jenna and Rosie, wondering whether they were still in danger, but what he couldn't see was that _he_ was the one still in danger. He remembered his conversation with Jenna, about why it wasn't safe for her to be around him, and about how Steele wouldn't rest until Balto and everyone he loved was wiped off the face of the earth, permanently. And then he remembered his thoughts before falling asleep, his constant worries.

As his fear continued to wash over him, Balto began to hyperventilate. The wolf-dog had never had anyone out to get him before, not since Devil, Wilson, and Cookie at least, and Balto was slowly beginning to realize what this meant. He would have to look over his shoulder for the rest of his life. He couldn't be with Jenna anymore, it would only make her target for Steele's wrath, and he couldn't doom the husky for his actions, it just wouldn't be right. It had to be him, he had to be the one to die, he always had to be the one. Balto gulped. He had accepted his death before, twice actually, but it never seemed to get any easier. He had cheated death twice in a row now, but this time he realized that there would be no escape. Just a bloody fight between him and Steele.

Balto didn't know if he could beat Steele, and if Nikki, Kaltag, and Star sided with him, then he would be greatly outnumbered. Balto knew he was doomed, after defying Steele the night before, Steele wasn't just going to want to fight him or taunt him anymore, he was going to want to kill him. But the question was, would Steele accept even Nikki, Kaltag, and Star back into his loyalties again? After all, they had betrayed him, the same as Balto had. At that point, Balto realized that whether he lived or died entirely depended on Nikki, Kaltag, and Star now. They were the three that could turn the tide, in either his of Steele's favor. Balto's body suddenly tensed, as if it was ready for battle. Balto didn't exactly know why, maybe because of all of his thoughts of Steele. But then, he heard it. What the wolf-dog hadn't noticed until now.

He heard a soft thudding sound coming from just outside the cabin. It was too heavy to say it was Boris, and was way too light to Muk or Luk. But he didn't need this logic, because he already knew who it was, the only person - or dog - it could be. Steele. The sound of paws crunching against the freshly fallen snow sounded like it was still a few meters away, but it was closing in fast on the boat.

Balto quickly paced around the cabin, trying to think of a plan, but he was still too nervous to think clearly. And then, his ears detected something that sent chills down his spine. The sound was too loud to belong to just one dog. It was the sound of multiple dogs. Nikki, Kaltag, and Star had rejoined their leader. At the moment, Balto realized that he was as good as dead. He hadn't spoken to the three dogs since they returned to Nome, but Balto knew what they were probably thinking. That it was better to be on Steele's side than, to be in the path of his wrath. Even though Doc was the town alpha, Steele practically ran Nome. Every dog in town feared the malamute, and no dog besides Doc dared stand up to him. Anyone that even tried, Balto had seen Steele personally whip their tails so badly, that they spent months - sometimes years - in the local hospital. And with his three cronies on his side, the dog was practically unstoppable.

"_I'm going to die_", Balto finally thought. It was so strange to be so calm in the face of death, almost weird. But Balto then realized that he had lived a long life, even if wasn't all chocolate and roses, it had it's highlights. Perhaps if he went quietly, death would be nice and quick, and he would at last be at peace, like he had the night before. Last night was the greatest night of his life, and it made sense that he got to enjoy himself for just one short night before his death. That he finally got to tell Jenna that he loved her.

At the moment, the very thought of Jenna broke Balto's newfound peace and serenity, and his heart melted in despair. The beautiful and sweet red husky had been his first and only true love, all he had ever wanted was to spend the rest of his life with her, to tell her how much he loved her. But Steele had always stood in the way, persistent in making his life miserable every single day - just because he could. Just because Balto was a half-wolf. A freak. A filthy savage who didn't deserve to live like regular dogs. Who didn't deserve to love someone like Jenna.

Something inside Balto flared, it burned white hot inside him, and Balto knew from instincts that it was his anger. Uncontrollable - and at the same time - delicious rage. As the sound of paws crushing against the snow grew closer and closer to the trawler, Balto's fight or flight instinct kicked in. Adrenaline coursed through his brain, and blood pumped through his veins, flaming hot beneath his skin. His vision began to be tinted a bright red hue, and his heart pounded with rage.

Balto had always ran from a fight, choosing to run away instead of standing his ground like any other wolf would. He had always thought a fight wouldn't solve anything, ever since he was only a little wolf pup playing with his other siblings. But since there was no chance of a flight this time, he knew he had to fight. But finally, Balto realized, that he _wanted_ to Steele to come. He _wanted_ to fight Steele. He _wanted_ Steele to give the wolf-dog an excuse to kill him in battle, by finally provoking a fight between them. Balto had spent an entire night afraid of Steele and his cronies, but then he finally realized that he could take them. He had beat Steele's tail twice, and he could do it again.

His anger flowed through his body, and he realized he felt stronger, and faster than ever. It was if his body had grown as soon as he accepted his wolf heritage the night before, one last advantage for his fight with Steele and his cronies. Balto growled again, as he remembered the past five years. For five years, Steele had bullied him, tried to kill him, tried to kill Jenna, but last night he had went too far. Steele had risked the lives of dozens of innocent children over a petty grudge. Steele had let his pride and prejudice get in the way of saving dying children. Five years of anger and aggression had built up inside Balto, and it all came out as a primal snarl. "_No more running! If I'm going down, Steele's going with me!_", he growled.

Balto bared his teeth, and his fur stood up on his neck, as the thudding grew even closer. Balto recognized this anger as the very same feeling he felt the previous night when he had explained what had happened to Jenna, how he had wanted to find Steele and tear him apart. But this time, Balto didn't fight the feeling, but instead let the anger flow through him, letting it consume him. Balto no longer worried about his own safety, he couldn't care less about what Steele did to him anymore. He was only focused on one thing, slashing open Steele's throat, biting into every single bone in Steele's body with his fangs, and finally ripping out Steele's heart out of his chest with his own bare claws. He would stand by and watch as Steele suffered a slow and painful death, coughing and bleeding on the snowy ground, and the wolf-dog would enjoy single minute of it.

This of course meant that he would kill Nikki, Kaltag, and Star too. They would surely try to save their fearless leader. Balto would kill them one by one if he had to, without any remorse, he had a bone to pick with them too. It would be easy, they had let Steele push them around for five years, just like Balto had. The lackeys had never had enough courage to stand up to anybody, so they would be an easy kill. He would dispose of them quickly, but Steele _would_ pay. Not just for what he had done to Balto, but for all the other innocent lives he had ruined, and all the other dogs he had pushed around his entire life.

Balto's eyes began to glow a bright yellow hue, his face furious. And then he heard the sounds of someone climbing up the ramp, and dashing across the main deck. Whoever it was, they were about to come inside the cabin. "_Bring it on Steele, may the best dog win_", Balto snarled, leaning forward into a crouching position. At that moment, Balto was finally one with the wolf, just like he had been the night before. Balto was finally ready to finish what he started five years ago.

But instead of a crazed black and white malamute bursting through the doors, an unexpected, yet familiar dog ran inside. Not registering this just yet, Balto leapt forward and let loose a primal wolfish snarl, freezing the dog in it's tracks. Balto then noticed two other dogs accompanying the canine. Balto's eyes were still only seeing bright red, making it almost impossible to see who the dogs were. But it slowly became obvious that they weren't here to kill him or even to fight him, but instead, they were all afraid of him. Balto muscles slowly relaxed as his brain registered that he wasn't in any danger, _yet_.

Not willing to let his guard down yet, Balto stared at the dogs, trying to make out their faces.

"Balto?", a soft voice asked, worried yet frightened at the same time. It wasn't the hardened voice of a man, but was instead, a gentle female voice.

Balto couldn't see the dog, but he immediately recognized her voice from the night before, and finally dropped his guard. "_Jenna_", he whispered. The red tint disappeared from his eyes, and the wolf-dog could see the horrified expression on the husky's face. She was obviously scared, and Balto could see why. In his nearby dog dish, which was still filled with fresh water, his reflection was glowing at him in the early morning sun. His fangs were bared, jutting out of his mouth like a wild hog, and his eyes were glowing bright yellow. His tongue was raking over his fangs, like a deadly Caped Cobra's forked tongue. The wolf-dog looked crazed. No, even worse. He looked exactly like a wild wolf.

Balto quickly realized how terrified Jenna had to be, and immediately ran to her side to comfort the husky. Seeing Balto approach, the two dogs that were standing behind Jenna stepped back in fear. It was then that Balto realized that the two dogs that had accompanied her were Dixie and Sylvie, Jenna's gal pals.

"Jenna, I'm so sorry I scared you", Balto apologized, wrapping his arms around the husky to calm her.

Jenna shuddered slightly, still frightened, and Balto realized Jenna's eyes were still closed. She was too scared to open them, in fear that she might stare into the face of a savage wolf again. For a moment, Balto's face had looked exactly like it had when he had been fighting Devil, Wilson, and Cookie two years earlier. For the first time in more than two years, Balto had looked more like a wolf than a dog.

Jenna took a deep breath to calm herself, and reminded herself that Balto would never hurt her, before finally opening her eyes. To her relief, Balto's face had returned to normal, and eyes now conveyed feelings of worry and shame. Still, she realized that Balto's eyes were still glowing, and his teeth were still hanging out of his mouth. "Could you please lower the battle gear?", she requested, her voice shaky.

Balto hesitated at first, his body and his instincts was still not eager to let him let his guard down completely. But the hybrid kept reminding himself that the dog before him was Jenna, not Steele. Friend, not foe. Much more than a friend actually, a best friend. And more than a best friend, a lover.

Balto took a deep breath, and his teeth slowly sank back into his mouth. The wolf-dog's yellow eyes dimmed, before they eventually stopped glowing entirely. Now that he was finally back to normal, Balto ears flattened against his head in shame. "Jenna, I'm so sorry that I scared you like that, I just thought that…", he rambled, trying desperately to explain, before Jenna interrupted him.

"You thought that it might be Steele, I understand, I know you didn't mean to", Jenna said, obviously understanding, though she still hesitated as she remembered the savage look on Balto's face. Balto could tell the husky was trying to convince herself that he would never hurt her, and so was he.

He was still feeling guilty, when he noticed that Dixie and Sylvie were still keeping their distance from him. "And I'm sorry that I almost attacked you too", he said, quickly apologizing to the terrified show dogs.

Dixie and Sylvie hesitated to speak at first, eyeing each other in silent fear, before Dixie finally spoke. "I guess we understand, a guy's gotta stay on guard with a psycho like Steele on the lose", she said, her voice reluctantly understanding.

"You're Dixie, right? Jenna's friend?", Balto asked.

"That's my name, don't wear it out", Dixie said nervously, trying to bring a little humor into the awkward situation.

"Then you must be Jenna's other friend, Sylvie", Balto reasoned, staring at the large afghan hound that was standing next to Dixie.

Sylvie nodded, though her eyes conveyed the fear the afghan felt inside. Balto, who had a feeling that the show dogs wouldn't be dropping their guard around him anytime soon, turned back to Jenna. But Dixie stepped forward before either one of them could speak again. "So you're the Balto that we've heard Jenna talk so much about", she observed.

Balto raised his eyebrows and then turned to stare at Jenna, grinning.

Jenna blushed and then frowned at Dixie.

"You know, she's right, you are taller in person", Sylvie noted, staring at the wolf-dog in front of her.

"Can we please get back to the news already? It's the whole reason we came here in the first place", Jenna interrupted, annoyed.

"What news?", Balto asked, curious.

"It's about Rosie", Jenna explained, but she was quickly interrupted by Balto.

"Is she okay? The serum did work, didn't it?", Balto asked panickedly, worried that the serum, which he had worked so hard to retrieve, somehow hadn't had any effect on the girl and she was still dying.

"Rosie's okay, the serum you delivered is rapidly pushing the Diphtheria out of her system and she should back to normal in less than a week", Jenna reassured Balto, but the hybrid could tell she was reassuring herself too.

At that, Balto sighed heavily, relieved that Rosie was still alright, and that his efforts to save her life had indeed succeeded.

Dixie and Sylvie eyed each other, surprised that a wolf-dog would care so much about the safety and well-being of one little human girl.

"Then what is it that you wanna tell me?", Balto asked, his voice calm again.

Dixie excitedly opened her mouth, but before a single word could escape from the husky's lips, an aggravated Jenna interrupted her again. "Could you please let me tell him Dixie? This involves me just as much as it does him", she reminded Dixie.

Dixie threw an angry look at Jenna, but eventually nodded her head.

"Look, are you guys going to tell me, or am I just gonna to have to keep waiting for hours and hours?", Balto asked, fighting back a chuckle.

Jenna rolled her eyes, but underneath her false calmness, Balto could tell whatever Jenna was about to tell him was huge. Balto read the husky's aura, and sensed that Jenna was practically bursting with excitement.

"Okay, but first, just promise me that you'll take this seriously", Jenna requested.

"Jenna…", Balto began, rolling his eyes.

"Just promise me already", Jenna insisted.

Balto simply stared at Jenna, but the hybrid could tell that whatever she was about to say was obviously important to her, so he decided to humor her. "Fine. I promise, wolf's honor", he replied, raising up his left paw.

Jenna smiled, before nervously looking up at the cabin's ceiling. Balto noticed she was both excited and worried at the same time, obviously nervous about what Balto's response would be to whatever it was she about to tell him. "Balto, this is going to change your life forever", she explained.

Now, Balto was really intrigued, what could Jenna be talking about? His life couldn't get any more different than it had the night before, when he had fully embraced his wolf heritage, or could it?

"Could you please just get on with it, or I'm just going to tell him myself, right now", Dixie demanded, her attitude obviously still surly.

Balto raised his eyebrows, he had never seen Dixie so grumpy before, and it was actually kind of a funny sight. Jenna threw an annoyed look at Dixie, and the show dog stuck out her tongue in return. Balto couldn't help but laugh at how un-lady-like the two dogs were acting, like a pack newborn pups rather than two grown women.

Balto turned back to look at Jenna and saw her mouth quickly open, her vocal chords chiming and creating the miracle of speech. The next eight words quickly poured out of Jenna's mouth in a rush, but Balto's supersensitive ears picked up every syllable, almost in slow motion, though what Jenna had said was seemingly impossible. "Balto, Rosie's family has decided to adopt you!", she shouted, her voice high-pitched with glee.

Balto's mouth fell open in shock as his brain slowly processed what those eight little words meant, and the implications of what Jenna was saying.

"You're moving in with me!", Jenna continued, giggling.

But before Balto could respond, or even deny the husky's claims, Jenna suddenly ran and embraced her new fiancée.


	3. Chapter 3: Big Changes

**_Chapter Three:_**

**_Big Changes_**

**_Nome, Alaska, 7:30 A.M. Friday, January 9th, 1925:_**

Balto was taken by surprise, as Jenna let seven seemingly impossible words flow out of her mouth, and then suddenly hugged him. After a few more seconds, Balto finally spoke up. "Jenna, what are you talking about?", he asked, confused.

Jenna stepped backward and smiled. "Last night, you saved the lives of everyone in town, and with a great risk to your own Balto", she explained.

"I know, I was there", Balto reminded her teasingly, smiling. Out of his peripheral vision, Balto could see Dixie and Sylvie roll their eyes simultaneously, but the wolf-dog simply ignored them.

"Well, after last night, the doctors requested that Rosie's parents go home for the night, and they did. They were so surprised and grateful that you saved their little girl, that they re-thought about Rosie's idea about you staying with them", Jenna explained.

Balto raised his eyebrows disbelieving. None of what Jenna said was making any sense. Well, it made perfect sense, but Balto couldn't believe that a higher-class family like Rosie's would want to keep a wolf-dog hybrid as their pet, even if he did help to save their sickly daughter.

Balto could still here Thomas Jones' cruel words ringing in his ears: "_Get back Rosie! I'm sorry, but he might bite you honey, he's half-wolf_", Thomas had said harshly, before moving Rosie away from Balto, in fear that the wolf-dog might somehow hurt his daughter. Balto had known that the man had had a good reason for worrying, since most wolves were vicious carnivores that sometimes went into villages to attack humans, but the man's judging words had still cut into him, like a knife slicing through butter. Balto just couldn't believe a man that was so against wolves would just change his mind overnight, and he refused to believe it.

"Jenna, what you're saying just can't be true", Balto denied, refusing to let his lifted hopes up just for them to be crushed again.

Jenna frowned, and then sighed, she had expected Balto not to believe her so easily. "Alright, fine, if you won't believe me, then I guess I'll just have to show you", she replied.

"What do you mean?", Balto asked, confused.

"Balto, I need you to come with me to Nome, and then I'll show you I'm telling the truth", Jenna explained, her voice anxious.

Balto sighed in response. "Jenna, you know I can't come into town, I'd be thrown out before I'd even make it down the Front Street", he reminded her.

"I wouldn't count on it", Dixie muttered, rolling her eyes.

Balto glared at her, and then turned back to Jenna.

"Please, just trust me on this Balto, I've always trusted you", Jenna pleaded, her eyes sparkling.

Balto looked into Jenna's eyes, her eyes were so desperate, and so impossible to say no to. Balto took a deep breath, and then sighed again.

**((()-()))**

Balto, Jenna, Dixie, and Sylvie walked back onto the trawler's main deck, and stared at the beautiful Alaskan scenery that surrounded the boat on all sides. Just a few feet away in the south-west direction was a thick snow-covered pine forest, now blanketed in snow from the harsh blizzard the night before. Beyond the forest was the Alaskan mountains, they were thousands of feet tall, and known for their unstable foundation. Avalanches were the main cause of accidents and deaths in Alaska. A few meters in the north-east direction was the small town (practically a village) called Nome, the population made up of about 850 people at the time. Balto had lived outside of Nome almost his entire life, watching the lives of people and dogs from afar, from on top of his boat, and from the rooftops of Nome.

Balto and Jenna had already explained to Boris where they were going, and were getting ready to leave for Nome. "We'll be back soon Boris", Balto promised, and the old goose nodded in reply.

At that, Balto leapt off the side of the boat, and landed smoothly on the ground, hardly even feeling the impact. Balto looked up, and then realized that the boat was a lot bigger than he had remembered it, and began to worry about the girls' safety. "If you guys jump down, I promise to break your fall!", he shouted up to Jenna, Dixie, and Sylvie.

"_I promise to break your fall_", Dixie mimicked, her expression sour.

"He's just trying to be a gentleman Dix", Jenna frowned.

"Well, I can take care of myself, thank you very much, women don't need men to do everything for them", Dixie said in return, puffing out her chest.

"Suit yourself", Jenna said, rolling her eyes, before leaping off the side of the boat.

Balto watched as Jenna's body fell through the air. He quickly ran forward, so that Jenna would land on him if anything went wrong. But to the wolf-dog's surprise, the rust and cream husky landed gracefully on her feet, only a few yards away from where he touched down.

Balto smiled, and walked over to her side. "I'm impressed, I'd almost forgotten how flexible you are", he mused, grinning. Jenna had saved him from death twice with her surprising array of self-defense and acrobatics.

Jenna grinned back, and turned to see Sylvie walk down the wooden plank connecting the boat to the ground, choosing not to risk jumping like Balto and Jenna had.

"I'm impressed too, you've got some moves Jen", the afghan said, her voice surprised.

"Okay Dixie, it's your turn!", Jenna yelled upwards.

Dixie nervously walked forward, and peered over the edge of the boat, and gulped mentally. The jump was no problem for bigger dogs like Balto and Jenna, but if Dixie made one wrong move, she could wind up with a broken leg or a sprained paw, effectively ending her career as a show dog. "Maybe I should take the plank down, like Sylvie did?", she suggested, her voice nervous and sheepish.

"But I thought you weren't afraid to jump?", Balto reminded her, raising his eyebrows, a teasing edge to his voice. Jenna giggled, and joined in on the harmless fun.

Dixie frowned at Balto, and then started to step backward. Finally, Dixie closed her eyes, and ran forward as fast as her tiny little legs could take her. The show dog's feet left the safety of the boat, and she leapt over the edge.

Balto immediately ran forward - moving so fast that he was practically a blur - and placed himself directly underneath her.

Dixie screamed in terror as she fell faster and faster towards the earth, freefalling, until finally landing on Balto's back. "I told you I'd catch you", he reminded her, turning his head around so he could grin at the show dog.

"Don't make me punch that grin out of your mouth", she muttered sourly.

Balto shrugged, and sat down on his hind legs, allowing Dixie to gently slide off his back.

"Okay then, let's get moving", he said, his voice reluctant now, and worried.

He didn't know why he had agreed to this, to risk going in town. But then, Balto groaned to himself. He knew _exactly_ the reason why he was doing this - Jenna's face. It had been so innocent and pleading, it looked exactly like the face of a little girl, and it was almost impossible to say no to. Just like when they were kids, and she had convinced him to continue their tour of Nome. For the first time, Balto felt like he understood human husbands, whenever they would complain that it was impossible to say to no to their wives. Balto finally understood what it meant to have to put your foot down, even if it meant having to endure the non-stop pouting.

Balto turned to glance back at Jenna. All these thoughts of husbands and wives reminded him of his proposal to Jenna, which was only the night before. One thought popped into his head, and once he thought of it, it was impossible to ignore it. It kept nagging him, tugging at him. He had to know if Jenna still felt like marrying him, now that everything had calmed down and went back to normal. He had been running on an emotional high the night before, on a combination of adrenaline and euphoria, and the proposal was the result of that. It was a spur of the moment thing. An "Ah, why the hell not?", sort of thing. But what if Jenna had been in the spur of the moment too? What if now that she had had some time to think it through, she didn't want to marry him anymore? She seemed to still affections for him, but Balto had to know for sure. But unfortunately, he couldn't ask her right now, Dixie and Sylvie were still in earshot, only a feet away, talking to Jenna about the recuperating children.

Balto also couldn't help but wonder if Jenna had talked to Dixie or Sylvie about the proposal yet. After all they were best friends, and didn't best friends tell each other everything? From what Jenna had told him, Dixie and Sylvie were real gossip hounds. Maybe that was the reason Jenna hadn't told them yet, she didn't want the whole town to know. After all, what kind of life could she possibly have with a half-wolf? Living in an old abandoned trawler forever, wasting the best years of her life on some dog that everybody hated? Not to mention Steele was still out there, waiting for his revenge, and was willing to kill anyone who got in his way of Balto. Balto knew that not only would he kill Jenna, but he would probably force her to mate with him as a punishment first. Balto couldn't let her ruin her life just for him.

Balto sighed, and stared longingly at Jenna, his heart was heavy, and weighed down by guilt. He would have to call off their engagement. It would break Jenna's heart, but ultimately, it would be for her own good. He would tell her as soon as they were alone. Balto would try and comfort her the best he could, but then tell her to stay away from him afterwards. Start a whole new relationship with another dog in Nome, someone who would love her, and support her, and protect her. Balto heart felt like it was about to break. He had finally professed his feelings about the girl he had loved for five years. It was cruel that he would have to go of her go so soon, but it would be selfish to let her suffer for his own happiness. Balto had made the impossible decision to leave Jenna before, and it seemed like he would have to make it again soon.

Suddenly, Jenna's voice interrupted Balto's thoughts. "Hey Balto! We're here!", she shouted, grinning.

Balto looked up, and focused his eyes on what Jenna was staring at. Without realizing it, they had already walked a few kilometers from the trawler, and were now only a few yards away from Front Street. The massive buildings of Nome, (well, they were massive from a dog's point of view anyway), towered above them, now only a few feet away.

The group of four slowly walked into Nome, with Balto and Jenna in the lead.

"Jenna are you sure about this", Balto asked nervously. The wolf-dog still wasn't sure that this was such a good idea. After years of being hated by the humans of Nome, Balto was expecting a broom, or a mop, or even a frying pan to be thrown at him at any second.

"You'll see, things are gonna be fine", Jenna said, her voice calm and confident, smiling in anticipation.

Balto sighed, and then pretended to ignore her. But Jenna's smile slowly faded as she stared at Balto's face harder, seemingly concentrating on something that Balto couldn't see. "What is it?", he asked curiously, turning around to see if she was looking at something behind him.

"It's just that, you look kind of different, really different", Jenna said, continually staring at the wolf-dog's face.

In response, Balto laughed, beginning to understand. "Yeah, I guess I must have grown overnight", he replied sarcastically, remembering how much stronger he had felt when he woke up.

But to his surprise, Jenna disagreed with him. "No, it's not just that, your eyes look kind of different too", she argued, examining the hybrid's face.

Balto raised his eyebrows, confused about what Jenna meant. Hoping to understand the husky's confusing words, Balto turned around, and looked in a nearby puddle of water. Balto's eyes widened, as he was shocked by what he saw. His usual golden yellow-brown eyes, were now a much lighter shade of yellow, similar to topaz. And his already yellow eyes were now so bright they were almost glowing in the morning sun. It was almost eerie, like a panther's eyes glowing in the darkness of night.

"Whoa", Balto exclaimed, staring at the new color of his eyes.

"And your voice, it sounds kinda deeper too", Jenna added.

"Really?", Balto asked, listening to the sound of his voice. His voice was indeed much deeper than it had been the night before. It was much more husky and gruff than usually, it almost sounded intimidating. Like the kind of voice you'd hear off an old army veteran, or the kind of guy who liked to pick fights for fun. It felt weird. Then it suddenly dawned on Balto. He wasn't the same dog anymore. Ever since he had accepted his wolf heritage, he was now even more like a wolf than he was a dog, and somehow that didn't bother him at all.

"Wow", he said, his voice still sounding strange to him.

"Don't worry about it, I like it, it's kinda attractive", Jenna grinned, a flirting edge to her voice. Balto grinned back, but also felt kinda awkward.

"_Oh brother_", Dixie muttered.

"_Is that really what we sound like when we flirt? Cause that is really annoying_", Sylvie whispered sarcastically.

Dixie threw another annoyed glance at the couple, and then frowned.

"What?", Balto asked, noticing her glance.

"You were right, you do look kinda taller too", Dixie added, raising her eyebrows.

Jenna and Sylvie both stared at the wolf-dog hybrid, sizing him up in their minds. "It's true, you look to be about the size of Steele now", Jenna noted.

Balto stared at Jenna, sizing her up too. The night before, his head had been nose to nose with her, but now his eyes were about one or two inches higher than hers'. Balto turned around, and pondered to himself in silent thought. It seemed that everything about him was different now. _Everything_. Ever since he had embraced his wolf-half during the serum run, it was almost like Balto was growing more and more wolf like. And it was all happening so fast that it was all so confusing.

Finally, the four dogs walked down the surprisingly empty Front Street, and walked past a newspaper stand. Balto looked all around him, and found that the streets were indeed deserted. The stores were all closed, and the only building with any sign of life or movement inside was the local hospital.

Balto guessed that all the parents of the sick children were all still in the hospital, making sure that their precious children were still gonna to live. The humans were still refusing to let their guard down for even a second, just like Balto, because they all feared that their newfound joy and salvation wouldn't last. Otherwise the streets would have usually been crowded with dozens of humans around this hour, hoping to get an early start on their daily routine. Balto understood how it felt to worry about losing the ones you love. Balto worried everyday about the safety of his friends and family - Jenna, Boris, Muk, Luk, and Rosie.

Balto turned his head, and stared at the newspaper stand, and realized that the streets weren't entirely deserted. A newsboy, who looked to be no older than ten or eleven, was standing behind the newspaper stand, looking the other way as the dogs passed by him. "**_Extra! Extra! Local wolf-dog saves town!_**", the boy shouted.

Balto raised his eyebrows, but then shook his head. Of course the local newspaper already had the story in print, it was the biggest news to hit Nome since the Gold Rush, but Balto also wondered if the paper had had any reluctance to admit that a wolf had saved Nome instead of an experienced sled dog. Almost nobody, except for the people who saw the event unfold before their very eyes, would ever believe the tale.

While Balto was thinking quietly to himself, the newsboy finally turned around and saw the four dogs standing in the middle of the street. "THERE HE IS! BALTO'S HERE!" the boy shouted, his words echoing off the lonely streets.

Balto cringed, the boy's words boomed in his newly enhanced wolf ears, nearly shattering his eardrums. After the pain eventually wore away, Balto's next instinct was to either run away or to stand his ground, knowing that the boy had already alerted the other humans to his presence.

Hearing the boy's cries, dozens of humans immediately poured out of the hospital, and starting running in the direction of the dogs.

"Jenna, get behind me", Balto said, placing himself in front of Jenna, Dixie, and Sylvie.

"Balto, it's not what you think", Jenna insisted.

As Balto was about to bare his teeth at the approaching humans, Jenna walked in front of him. "Please trust me on this Balto", she pleaded.

Balto looked at her, and then at the mob the humans, who were getting closer and closer with every passing second. "I trust you Jenna, I just hope that you're right about this", Balto replied.

"Dixie, Sylvie, in case Jenna's wrong, get behind me", he said, waving his paw forward.

Dixie and Sylvie stared at the hybrid for a few seconds, surprised by the wolf-dog's nobility, and then stepped a few feet back, doing as the hybrid said.

After another 30 seconds, the humans finally reached the dogs, and Balto cringed again, expecting the worst the townspeople could do to him. But instead of beating him, or kicking him with their shoes, the humans surrounded Balto, patting him on the head and rubbing his fur. When Balto opened his eyes, he was blinded by dozens of flash bulbs. He realized that reporters were among the crowd too, up until a few seconds ago, they had all been inside the hospital, interviewing the doctors and nurses.

As Balto took a few seconds to comprehend what was happening, he turned to glance at Jenna, who was now grinning triumphantly.

Among the crowd of humans, Balto could hear the distinct and familiar sound of a human voice. In the back of the crowd, he could see one man making his way through the throng, pushing dozens of other humans out of the way. Balto quickly recognized the man as being Rosie's father, Mr. Thomas Jones. "Excuse me, pardon me, I have to reach that dog", Thomas said, excusing himself as he brushed by dozens of people.

Balto was surprised at the man's determination, and was even more surprised that Tom had called him a 'dog' for the first time. Balto threw another glance at Jenna, who was still smiling at him. Jenna barked as Tom finally reached them. Thomas rubbed the husky's head, and then stooped down on his knees, so his head was level with Balto's. "Hey there boy", he said.

After thinking for a few more moments, Balto decided that the best thing to do was to bark, since the humans couldn't understand canines.

"You did a brave thing last night boy, you saved dozens of lives", Tom said, rubbing Balto's head with his gloves. "I don't know whether or not you understood what was at stake when you rescued the team, but Rosie seems to think you're a good dog, and I trust her judgment now more than ever", Tom explained, standing on both legs again. Tom pulled a leather lease and collar from his coat pocket, and slowly walked towards Balto.

Balto threw another nervous glance at Jenna, confused about what the man had in store for him. "_It's okay_", she mouthed, smiling reassuringly.

Tom leaned over and attached the collar to Balto's neck, trying his best to be as gentle as possible. The crowd stood back, worried about Balto's reaction to the lease, and the reporters continued to take picture after picture. To their surprise, Tom finished attaching the leash, completely unharmed by the hybrid, and lightly held the other end of the rope in his hand.

"Now, let's get you a home boy", Tom said, smiling. "Jenna, you might want to come with us", he added, turning to look at Jenna. Jenna barked in return, which the man understood as 'yes'.

Balto looked in amazement, in all his years as a stray, he had never seen a man have such a connection with his dogs before, now he understood where Rosie got her sense of compassion from.

"Next stop, city hall", Tom announced, before walking away.

Balto felt a slight tug from the rope around his neck, and understood it as a signal to keep moving.

As Thomas, Balto, and Jenna started to walk away, the reporters stayed close behind them, continually reloading their cameras with new film every other minute.

"Hey, wait, what about us?", Dixie shouted, frustrated.

Balto turned around, and grinned sheepishly. In all the excitement, he had completely forgotten that Dixie and Sylvie were even with them.

Chasing after Balto and Jenna, the small husky and the Afghan hound tried their best to stay ahead of the crowd of reporters, trying not to be trampled.

"I guess Tom won't mind if you come with us!", Balto shouted back, since he couldn't go back to help the show dogs himself.

Dixie and Sylvie groaned, and simply kept running.

**((()-()))**

Balto turned and looked around him, and then looked at the lease around his neck. He looked at the humans that were following them, and at Jenna who was trotting next to him, and then at Tom, who was still walking at a steady pace with the lease that he held in his hands.

"So, are my theories crazy now?", Jenna whispered, her voice smug.

Balto frowned and then smiled. "Well, I couldn't let my guard down completely, this town isn't exactly made up of wolf-lovers", he reminded her, feigning annoyance.

The wolf-dog glanced up at Tom again, and then looked at Jenna. "So where are we going anyway?", Balto asked, curious. Thomas had been walking for quite some time, and they had already pasted Rosie's house, along with the hospital a little while ago.

"We're going to City hall, a new law was just passed last year", Jenna explained, keeping her voice hushed.

"What law?", Balto asked, curious.

"It states that if a dog has no owner, and if no one ever comes to claim it, than it can be adopted by any willing resident, and since you're technically half-dog and half-wolf, the law should work for you too", Jenna explained, though her voice was unsure.

After hearing the husky's explanation, Balto understood why she was so nervous. Jenna had said the word '_should_', which meant that there was still a chance that the human council would reject him because of his wolf half. Balto threw another look at Tom, who still seemed pretty confident. The wolf-dog wished he felt the man's sense of confidence at that moment.

Behind them, Dixie and Sylvie continued to walk at quick pace, panting heavily. The pampered show dogs were not used to so much exercise in one day, and they were beginning to have serious doubts about whether or not they should have just stayed behind.

"I swear, if my feet get blisters because of this, hero or not, I'm gonna kill Jenna and her new boyfriend", Dixie complained, staring down at her sore paws.

Balto lifted his head so he could see past Tom, and he saw their destination - City Hall. Unlike most of the buildings in Nome, City Hall was made of entirely out of marble, with large stone steps at the base.

Balto gulped, and took a deep breath. That day, so far, had been the best day of his life, and he was hoping that his luck would hold out.

Out of the corner of his eye, Balto saw Jenna walking next to him. Jenna placed her paw on top of Balto's and the two looked into each other's eyes. For the past two years, Balto and Jenna had always been there for each other, rescuing each other when one of them was in danger, giving each other advice, and comforting one another when they were feeling down. And today, they were going to start a new life together. Balto smiled, and felt a newfound sense of confidence inside him. Because the hybrid had just realized that as long as he and Jenna were together, there was nothing they couldn't do. "Let's do this", he whispered. Jenna nodded, and lifted her head up again.

Tom climbed up the stone steps briskfully, not breaking his pace or even slowing down. Balto and Jenna kept up to pace with Tom, climbing step after step, while Dixie, Sylvie, and the mob of humans were still right behind them.

At the top of the stairs, they were met with two large wooden doors, with old-fashioned knockers on them. The doors didn't seem to match the stone marble around them, and looked weird compared to the rest of the building. Instead of using the knockers, Tom simply used his knuckles, knocking on the door three times to alert the mayor of his presence.

"Who is it?", someone asked, a dreading edge to his voice.

"Thomas Jones, here for my appointment", Tom stated, her voice still confident.

The voice behind the door sighed, and the doors swung open.

Thomas, Balto, and Jenna all walked inside, but the doors swung shut for the reporters, and the exhausted show dogs.

"Well!", Dixie huffed, outraged.

"We came all this way for nothing?", Sylvie griped, equally as outraged.

Suddenly, the door creaked open slightly, and the dogs realized that Balto was holding the door open for them. "Come on in guys", Balto whispered, grinning.

Dixie and Sylvie and grinned back, and immediately ran past the wolf-dog, inside the mayor's office.

Inside, a large man wearing an coat, bow-tie, and a top hat was waiting for them. Even without the nametag pinned to his shirt, Balto could guess that the man was the current mayor of Nome, Mr. Daniel Sutherland. Daniel himself was standing in front of his large desk, which Balto noticed had a surprisingly small chair for a man of his size.

"What brings you here Mr. Jones?", Daniel asked.

Balto sensed the false curiosity in his voice, and immediately knew that the man was dreading his adoption.

"You know why I'm here mayor, I told you of my intentions last night", Thomas reminded him, impatient.

Daniel sighed, and opened one of the drawers in his desk. He pulled out a piece of parchment will black and white ink on it, that Balto recognized as he his adoption papers.

Suddenly, the door behind them flew open, and an armada of reporters and photographers stormed inside the City Hall. Dixie and Sylvie shrieked in fear, and immediately jumped out of the way as the humans made their way into the mayor's office.

"Get out! Get out of here! This is private appointment!", Daniel shouted, desperately trying to push the press back outside.

"Let them stay mayor. This is the biggest story Nome has had since the Gold Rush, I think the local newspaper deserve at least some pictures to document the event, right boy?", Tom said encouragingly.

Balto barked in reply, the hybrid liked the man better already.

"Never!", Daniel shouted, unfazed.

"It's not like you're embarrassed by this, are you?", Tom implied, raising his eyebrows.

At that, the reporters and the other humans all murmured at the same time. Amongst the crowd, Balto heard the words '_ingrate_', '_prejudiced_', and '_bigot_', along with other, much more vulgar, words.

Balto and Tom grinned triumphantly and looked at the mayor, knowing that they had him trapped.

Daniel's bushy mustache crinkled, and the man seemed to be fighting back an angry outburst. Knowing that he had an image to protect, the mayor reluctantly agreed to let the press pour through the doors, taking up almost every square inch of the room.

Tom grinned triumphantly, and then pulled out a pen from his coat pocket. As if there was some kind of invisible signal, the cameras all started flashing every other second as Tom leaned over to sign the parchment.

Despite the noise of the flash bulbs, and the bustling of the crowd, everything was silent to Balto. All the hybrid could hear was Tom's feet pattering on the imported carpet, Daniel's rapid heartbeat, and the sound of Tom's pen scribbling on the paper.

After a few more seconds, Thomas finished writing his signature on the paperwork, and then placed the contract on the floor, along with a jar of black ink.

Balto cocked his head to the side, confused.

"It just needs one last signature, yours Balto", Tom explained.

Balto looked at the jar of ink, and then at the contract, and finally understood. Balto placed his right paw in the jar (which just barely fit due to the massive size of the wolf-dog's paws), and then lifted it in the air. Ink dripped off his paw, and a few drops fell onto the rug.

"Not the carpet!", Daniel scolded silently.

Balto ignored him, and turned to look at Jenna. He was glad that the husky was here to share this wonderful moment with him.

The whole room fell silent as Balto lowered his paw and slowly pressed it against one of the dotted lines.

"Sign here, here, here, here, and here please", Tom explained, pointing to different lines on the contract.

Balto eagerly obeyed, and soon the paper was almost covered with both paw prints and splattered ink.

Tom lifted up the paper, and gently placed it the mayor's desk. "Well, Mr. Mayor, the signing's all done", he said triumphantly.

"Excellent, I suggest that you buy Balto his own collar and have his tags engraved tomorrow, we don't want anyone mistaking him for a stray", Daniel said, but Balto could sense the repressed hatred and sarcasm beneath the man's words.

The room was still silent, and Balto could tell that the crowd of humans and reporters were all still waiting for the mayor to say the words. After waiting for as long as he possibly could, the mayor forced seven crucial little words out of his throat. "Congratulations Mr. Jones, Balto is now yours", Daniel muttered.

The room exploded with the sound of dozens of humans cheering and shouting, and was lit up by the camera's flash bulbs. As the reporters swarmed all around them, Balto ran forward and hugged Jenna, bursting with joy. Over all the screaming, Balto could hear Dixie and Sylvie cheering too, lost somewhere in the crowd.

Daniel took the soggy and ink covered contract, and walked away with it, obviously still mad that Tom forced him to do that, but Balto just ignored him. Now, the hybrid could finally let his guard down. His new life in Nome was about to begin, and after dreaming about it for so long, Balto didn't even know where to begin. "So, where to now?", he asked.

"Home, our home", Jenna replied, grinning.

Balto grinned back, the hybrid liked the sound of that.

**((()-()))**

**_Author's Note_**:

The idea of having Balto go through a psychical transformation as well as a spiritual one is my own way of explaining away the transition from Kevin Bacon, to Maurice LaMarche as the voice of Balto for "**_Balto II: Wolf Quest_**", and "**_Balto III: Wings of Change_**".


	4. Chapter 4: New Life, Same Old Enemies

**_Chapter Four:_**

**_New Life, Same Old Enemies_**

**_Nome, Alaska, 8:30 A.M. Monday, February 2, 1925:_**

A few minutes later, Balto, Jenna, Dixie, Sylvie, and Thomas walked out of Daniel's office, and stepped outside City Hall. Balto grinned and looked around at the small town of Nome again. Even though it had only been a few minutes since he had last saw it, everything looked and felt completely different to him now. Instead of being an outsider, a total loner, he was now a legal citizen of Nome. And for the first time, Balto felt liked he belonged somewhere. By now, the hybrid had let go of his protective cloak of denial, and was fully embracing the events that were happening around him.

"Okay guys, I'm gonna take you both home before I stop by the hospital again to check on Rosie, they don't usually allow animals inside the hospital", Tom explained to them.

Balto barked in reply, though the half-wolf was still amazed. How could a man who had hated wolves so much just a few days ago, had been changed so such by a simple act of kindness?

When they saw Tom start to walk back down the street, Balto and Jenna happily followed him, when Balto suddenly stopped, remembering something important. "Dixie, Sylvie, do you want to come with us?", the wolf-dog asked, trying to be polite.

"Nah, you two look like you could need some alone time", Sylvie replied.

"But…", Dixie argued, before Sylvie abruptly placed her paw over the smaller husky's mouth.

Balto shrugged, and happily followed after Jenna and Tom.

Once Balto and Jenna were out of earshot, Sylvie removed her paw from Dixie's mouth, and the husky gasped for air, before growling at the afghan hound. "Are you crazy girl? I want to be there when Balto sees his new house for the first time!", Dixie shouted, her voice furious.

"Like I said, they're a new couple that's now living together, they could use some alone time to figure out their relationship", Sylvie reminded her.

Dixie grumbled angrily for a few minutes, but she knew that Sylvie was right.

"Besides, we can catch up with them tonight at the party", Sylvie reminded her, before walking off.

Dixie followed her, but unbeknownst to the pair, a trio of dogs were watching them both from a distance - Nikki, Kaltag, and Star. The three dogs shared a nervous look, and glanced at Balto, who was walking in the opposite direction.

The three friends had been avoiding Balto ever since the night before, afraid of retaliation from the wolf-dog. But now, they felt like they had something genuinely to worry about. Now that Balto had moved into Nome legally, he was free to seek revenge on his former tormentors. But even worse, Steele was still unseen since the night before, and they were sure that he was stalking them too, waiting for a chance to strike for their betrayal. After Blaze's cruel words to them the night before, the trio wondered if Balto would ever forgive them. The three dogs quickly ran off, not knowing whether to follow Balto and Jenna, or to keep avoiding them.

Above the street, on the rooftop of the local grocery store, a silent figure watched as everything unfolded. So far, the canine had been nothing but an observer since the night before, but it was becoming harder and harder not to interfere. As the hours ticked by, it was becoming increasingly difficult not to seek revenge on the ones who had sided against him, and the meddlesome wolf-dog that had ruined his life for him. Steele snarled, and stepped back into shadows, struggling not to reveal himself to the other dogs, not yet anyway.

**((()-()))**

**_Nome, Alaska, 8:35 A.M. Monday, February 2, 1925:_**

Completely unaware of the three terrified dogs that had once shunned him, or even the enraged malamute that had swore to kill him, Balto eagerly followed Tom and Jenna back to their familiar red house with the broken fence. It had been Rosie and Jenna's home for their entire lives in Nome, and now it was his home too. Balto had been a cautious observer for so long, that he couldn't wait to finally see what the interior of the house looked like.

Just like the night before, when he had delivered the medicine back to Nome, Balto's heart beated a thousand beats per minute, feeling like it was going to burst out of his chest. Balto could hardly contain his excitement, and felt like howling again, but he held it in, not wanting to give Thomas or Evelyn any second thoughts about his adoption.

As Rosie's house finally came into view, Balto had to fight harder and harder to keep himself calm and collected. Rosie's home was located near the edge of town, and it hardly changed much since the Jones had moved into it three years ago, except that the red paint had faded slightly, and the wood was now worn down by constant erosion, due to the never ending snowfall in Alaska.

Thomas pushed open the broken yellow fence, and the man and his dogs walked into the front yard. They walked up four short steps, and onto the small porch that surrounded their house. Tom reached into coat pocket, and pulled out a familiar pair of house keys. Balto quickly recognized them as being the exact same pair of keys that Tom used when he and wife first moved to Nome, over two years ago. On the day he had first met the Jones family, Balto wished had he could have accompanied them while they were moving into their new home, and now his dream was finally coming true.

After placing the key in the lock, Tom turned it to the right, and Balto heard the internal locks inside the door shifting. Tom pushed on the door lightly, and it slowly creaked open.

"Well, here we are, home sweet home", he beckoned, before walking inside.

Balto's tail wagged, as a dozen different smells hit his nose at the same time. Balto only recognized about half of them as being cinnamon, berries, potatoes, fruits, vegetables, freshly baked bread, and chicken noodle soup. Balto guessed that someone, presumably Eve, was in the kitchen, cooking something.

"Honey, are you here?", Tom shouted.

"Come inside, I'm almost done", Eve shouted back, her voice coming from further inside the house.

After Tom walked inside, Balto and Jenna eagerly trotted behind him. Walking through the doorway for the first time, Balto slowly took in the view of his new home. Contrary to the exterior's red paint job, the house's interior had been painted a rustic shade of brown, and Balto could immediately tell that Rosie's home was different than the other buildings in Nome. In the center of the living room was a staircase that led to the second floor. And the living room itself was furnished with a few chairs, a sofa, a large red and blue carpet, and an old-fashioned radio sitting in the corner. But from what Balto understood of human currency, radios weren't exactly cheap. "Rosie must come from a well-off family", he mused quietly.

"It comes from Eve's side of the family, Eve's parents come from Great Britain and they run an international business in both the UK and the US", Jenna replied.

"Then why would a woman of the upper-class want to marry a frontier man? No offense to Tom of course", Balto asked, confused.

"They met once on his family's ranch in South Dakota, long before he moved here to Alaska. She found herself falling head over heels for him, and didn't care what her parents or anyone else thought, it was really romantic", Jenna explained, sighing wistfully.

Balto raised his eyebrows, and turned to look at the staircase again.

"The staircase leads to Tom and Eve's bedrooms upstairs, and Rosie sleeps on the other side of the hallway", Jenna explained.

Balto turned and smiled. "It's so nice to have my own guide", he teased lightly.

"Hey, you were my guide once too, you know", Jenna reminded him.

Balto chuckled, and looked around the living room, breathing in the air. Besides the smells coming from the kitchen, his newly enhanced nose could detect polished and varnished wood. Despite the eroded look outside, Tom and Eve obviously kept their home well furnished on the inside. On the western side of the living room, Balto could see a closed door, which obviously led to the kitchen.

"Is Rosie's breakfast done yet?", Tom asked, pushing the kitchen door open, and walking inside.

Curious, Balto and Jenna decided to follow him in. Once inside, Balto looked around in amazement. Inside the kitchen were cabinets and cupboards that were stocked with freshly harvested food from all the known food groups. But instead of red or brown paint job, the kitchen and the dining room were painted bright yellow. Balto cocked his head in confusion, and turned to look at Jenna.

Not having an explanation, Jenna just shrugged in response. "Eve has an eccentric taste in color", she simply replied.

Bending over a large gas stove, the woman in question was stirring the soup that Balto had smelled earlier, using a large wooden spoon. "I'm almost done, I could have finished sooner if I had had some help", Evelyn reminded Tom, frowning slightly.

Eve picked up the large pot of soup, and moved it over to the sink, giving the broth a chance to cool off before she took it across the street. Balto quickly realized that Tom and Eve were making breakfast for Rosie at the hospital, since they still couldn't take their beloved daughter home just yet.

"Sorry honey, but I had some important papers to sign", Tom replied, gesturing towards Balto and Jenna.

Eve's face lit up when she saw the wolf-dog hybrid inside her kitchen, and she immediately ran over to greet him. Eve got down on her hands and knees and quickly hugged Balto as hard as she could. As this was happening, Jenna and Tom stared at her anxiously, not sure what the wolf-dog's reaction would be. But instead of attacking her in fear or anger, Balto simply licked the woman's face, feeling a little bit awkward.

"It's so good to see you again boy", Eve squealed, her voice practically bursting with joy.

After a few minutes, Eve eventually let go of Balto, and stood up again. "You saved my little Rosie when no one else could, and I can never repay you enough for that", she explained, smiling.

Eve walked over into the corner, and started to pick up a large bag of dog food, which Balto recognized as the bag of dog kibble that Tom and Eve fed Jenna every day.

"Honey, don't try to lift that, you'll hurt yourself!", Tom exclaimed, before immediately running over to help his wife carry the heavy bag.

"Honey, don't be ridiculous", Eve replied, her voice strained.

The two tipped the bag upwards and poured the dry kibble into a dog dish. Once the dish was filled to the top, they carefully placed the bag back in the corner, and Tom grabbed a black pen out of one the kitchen drawers. He then wrote the name "_Balto_" on the side of the dish, and placed it next to the wolf-dog.

Balto simply stared at the bowl, still feeling reluctant to trust the human couple.

"Go ahead, it's okay", Tom insisted.

Balto turned and looked back at Jenna, after all, it was her dog food he was about to eat.

"I don't mind, go ahead", Jenna mouthed silently.

Balto wagged his tail, and then bent over the bowl. Balto slowly wrapped his teeth and his tongue over some of the kibble, and eventually swallowed it. As his taste buds comprehended the full variety of flavors, Balto's heart leapt for joy. The taste was amazing. Balto had tasted human food that people had thrown in their trash cans before, and had occasionally snuck a sausage out of the butcher's shop, but he had never tasted dog kibble before. To him, it tasted just like bacon. Bacon that had just been fried and thoroughly soaked in it's own grease. Before he knew it, Balto found himself taking bite after ravenous bite, swallowing faster and faster every second.

Tom watched the whole thing from only a few feet away, but instead of being worried, the man grinned. "You must be hungry", he joked, before walking towards to stove, to help Eve carry her heavy pot of soup.

As Balto continued to eat faster and faster, he was mostly acting on instinct, but his conscious brain was still working too, along with his sense of memory. The wolf-dog hadn't eaten anything since he had first left to rescue Steele and his team, which was over four to five days ago. Could it have really been that long? Balto knew that a wolf could survive days and sometimes even weeks without eating, but no wolf ever had to travel 675 miles in just a few days. His curiosity and non-stop adrenaline rush had kept his mind off his hunger for the past few days, but right now, the hybrid was starving, so Balto continued to dig in. The wolf-dog didn't even slow down enough to chew the food, but instead, swallowed it whole.

After a few more minutes, the bowl was completely empty, but Balto still continued to lick the insides, trying to savor every last bit of the flavor. After all that, Balto was still hungry, but tried to ignored the feeling, because he knew that wolves were almost always hungry.

Suddenly, Balto noticed Jenna from the corner of his eye, and was suddenly reminded of the husky's presence. Worried that he might have frightened her again, Balto turned around to check on her. But instead of being scared, Jenna was laughing. "Well that was fast", she giggled.

Annoyed, Balto pretended to scowl at her. "You haven't eaten for as long as I have, so shouldn't you be hungry too?", he asked, raising his thick eyebrows.

At the very thought of food, Jenna's stomach rumbled loudly. "I hope you're happy", she grumbled.

In response, Balto rolled over on his back laughing. Eventually, Balto stopped laughing and barked loudly to gain Eve's attention. The wolf-dog pointed his noise in Jenna's direction, and the woman blushed as she remembered something else important. "Sorry Jenna, I've been so distracted lately that I must have forgotten to fill your dish too", she said.

Balto watched as Eve and Tom once again lifted up the heavy bag of dog food, (surely straining their backs in the process), and poured it contents into Jenna's dog dish. After rubbing their backs for a few minutes, Tom and Eve picked up the heavy soup pot, and started moving it out the kitchen.

"We'll be back in a few hours, try not to get into any trouble!", Tom shouted, as the couple walked out of the kitchen, and into the living room.

Balto and Jenna continued to watch as they slid the pot through the front door, and then locked the door behind them.

"Bon appetite, my dear", Balto said, faking a French accent.

Jenna giggled as she realized that the hybrid's impersonations still hadn't improved at all since they were kids. Eventually, Balto couldn't help but laugh too, as Jenna started eating her own kibble. However, after a few seconds, Jenna noticed that the room had fallen silent, and that Balto's laughing had suddenly cut off.

Balto's breathing stopped, and the hair on the back of the wolf-dog's neck stood up. Jenna recognized Balto's stance as being similar to the one he had that morning, when he had thought they were in danger.

"What is it?", she whispered nervously.

However, Balto didn't answer, but instead tried to concentrate on listening through the walls.

"Who is it?", Jenna repeated, really scared now.

Finally, Balto's eyes darted towards the husky, and he spoke up. "_Nikki, Kaltag, and Star are outside, listening to us right now, so try to act natural_", Balto whispered, not taking his eyes off the front door.

Jenna nodded, understanding, and stood up. However, Jenna noticed that Balto kept looking at the door, and quickly realized that she had no reason to be relieved. If Nikki, Kaltag, and Star were close by, then that could mean that Steele would be with them, and Balto and Jenna both knew that Steele wanted them both dead. Still, Jenna did as Balto asked and tried to her best to mask her fright.

"So, how are you liking your new home Balto?", Jenna asked, her voice overly loud.

"Oh, It's brilliant Jen, although the paint job could use a little work", Balto replied, though the hybrid's voice unstable, and he kept pausing after every other word.

"_Tone it down a little, you're not being very convincing_", Balto whispered.

"_Oh, like you're doing so much better with your constant stuttering?_", Jenna annoyingly whispered back.

Balto frowned, and glanced at the door again, wanting to make sure no one tried to enter through the unlocked dog door.

"_Why are they here anyway?_", Jenna whispered, her voice nervous again.

"_I don't know, I think Steele may have sent them here as a warning for me to get out of town_", Balto presumed, straining to use his ears to hear past the wooden walls. Even with his newly enhanced wolf ears, the trio of dogs outside were mumbling, making it harder for him to understand their words.

Jenna nodded, but then remembered something important from the night before. "_I doubt it_", Jenna whispered, shaking her head in disagreement.

"_Why?_", Balto asked.

But instead of answering, Jenna tilted her head towards the door as a warning. Suddenly a branch broke outside, and the room fell quiet, deathly quiet. After the chilling silence continued for what seemed like eternity for Balto and Jenna (although in reality, it was only a few seconds), Balto spoke up.

"You know, I bet the kids are still recovering in the hospital", Balto said inconspicuously.

"Probably", Jenna awkwardly agreed.

After finally speaking, Balto could hear three sighs of relief coming from beyond the walls. Balto sniffed the air. He could smell Nikki, Kaltag, and Star, but so far, he didn't smell Steele anywhere nearby. Balto realized that the trio must have broken off from their leader, and a small amount of relief washed over the wolf-dog. In a fight, Balto knew that he might stand a better chance against the trio, than their leader, Steele, who was a much more experienced dogfighter.

"_Why don't you think Steele's here?_", Balto asked, his voice lowered.

"_Because I talked to Dixie before I came to visit you this morning, and Steele hasn't been seen last night. It's like he's missing from the face of the Earth of something_", Jenna explained, her voice confused.

Balto slowly took in Jenna's new information, and turned to look at the door again, knowing that only a thin wooden door separated him and Jenna from their three worst enemies.

"I wonder if Rosie's home yet?", Balto said loudly, his brow furrowing. Suddenly, a grin flashed over Balto's face, and the wolf-dog breathed a sigh of relief.

"_What?_", Jenna demanded quietly.

"They're not here for me, they think _I'm_ looking for _them_", Balto chortled, his mood lightened for some reason.

Jenna sighed too, as she realized that the dogs weren't here for them, they though it was the other way around.

"_I'm gonna try to get rid of them, ask what's the first thing I'm gonna do now that I'm in Nome_", Balto whispered, before raising his voice to normal level again.

"So Balto, what's the first thing you're gonna do now that you're in Nome?", Jenna asked, reluctantly following her fiancée's instructions.

"Good question Jen, I think I'm gonna go find Steele", Balto said, feigning anger and aggression.

Jenna raised her eyebrows her eyebrows in confusion.

"_Just go with it_", Balto whispered.

Jenna rolled her eyes, before continuing. "Why would you want to do that?", she asked.

"I've been waiting a long time to give that pompous jerk what's coming to him, and if Nikki, Kaltag, and Star get in my way, then I'll just have to get rid of them too", Balto replied.

Immediately after he spoke, Balto heard Star squeal outside, cover his mouth, and run away from the door, with Nikki and Kaltag right behind him.

"What was that for?", Jenna asked, as soon as she assumed the dogs were out of earshot.

"To get rid of them, they won't be back for a while", Balto replied.

Jenna grumbled annoyingly, but eventually started eating her kibble again. After leaving her bowl completely empty, Jenna lifted up her head, and looked at Balto, concerned. "So did you really mean all that stuff you said, about finding Steele and teaching him a lesson?", she asked, worried.

Balto opened his mouth, but struggled to come up with an answer.

"Balto?", Jenna asked, still concerned.

"Partially. You know that I'm not the kind of guy who goes looking for a fight, but I'm willing to defend myself if Steele attacks first", Balto finally replied.

However, Jenna noticed that the hybrid was still worried, and quickly caught on to the wolf-dog's fears. "But aren't you worried? That in the heat in of the battle…?", she asked, her voice wary.

"That I might use the fight as an excuse to finally get rid of Steele? Trust me Jenna, the thought has crossed my mind", Balto replied, his voice wary too.

Balto laid down on stomach, and Jenna laid down next to him.

"You know Jenna, I used to think, that Steele could be saved. I used to delude myself into thinking that if I gave him a little more time then he would eventually come to like wolves, or we could at least be friends, but now…", Balto said, his voice trailing off.

"Now?", Jenna asked, confused.

"Every time I even think of him Jenna, what he did two days ago, and what he almost did, I feel this rage inside me, this sort of primal fury that I can't control", Balto replied, confessing his inner demons to the husky for the first time.

"This morning, when I thought you were Steele, my judgment was clouded so much that I almost attacked you Jenna, I almost killed my own fiancée", Balto reminded her, his voice solemn.

Jenna stared at Balto, worried. Usually, even the word 'fiancée' would be enough to make Balto blush, but today, he was so worried that he hardly even noticed he said it.

"And I have no doubt that if… _when_ I see Steele again, I'll kill him. I won't think twice, I won't feel even guilt or remorse about it, I'll just kill him, and I'll become the murderer that everyone thinks I am", Balto said, before his head hanging down in silent shame.

Jenna placed her paw on Balto's shoulder, hoping to comfort the hybrid. "Listen Balto, I don't think you're a murderer, and you don't have to become one if you don't want to", Jenna said, her voice firm.

Balto turned, and simply looked at her, still refusing to believe the husky's words.

"Just because you're half-wolf, doesn't mean that you're destined to kill all your friends. You are what you decide to be Balto, I would have thought that you, of all people, would know that by now", Jenna said, lifting up the wolf-dog's head with her paw.

"You controlled your emotions this morning, you controlled yourself when you fought Devil when we were kids, and you've already spared Steele's life twice", Jenna reminded him.

Remembering his chaotic childhood, Balto thought about Jenna's words for a few moments, but then shook his head.

"Think about it Balto, do you know why haven't I dated any other dogs besides you in my three years here in Nome?", Jenna asked.

"Because you're extremely picky about the men you date?", Balto guessed, confused the meaning of the husky's question.

"Well there's that, but it's also because I've been looking. Looking for a man who treats women right, and treats them with respect. A man who, no matter how bad things get, still sees the best in people, and refuses to give up on them", Jenna explained.

"A man who always puts others before himself, and is willing to risk his own life for what he believes is right… and that man is you Balto", Jenna continued, causing the wolf-dog to smile a little bit. Somehow, Jenna always knew exactly how to lighten the hybrid's mood.

"When you were out there, in the middle of that blizzard, during combat with the dog you hate the most, most dogs would have sized that chance for revenge, but not my man… cause you're so much better than that. And when you see Steele again, I know you'll do the right thing, cause I know you Balto, and I know you're not a killer", Jenna finished, smiling.

Balto smiled back, and stroked the back of Jenna's neck with his paw. Feeling a familiar sense of passion towards each other again, Balto and Jenna closed their eyes, and slowly pressed their lips against each other. It was different from the kiss the couple had shared the night before, this one was softer and more gentle, and by now the pair had gotten used to the feel of each other's lips. After a few more minutes, Balto and Jenna pulled away each other, gasping for air again. Apparently, there was still some things they hadn't gotten used to yet.

After a few more minutes of awkward silence, and deep thought, Balto spoke up, though this time his voice was curious. "So where do you think Steele is anyway? I thought he would have intercepted us before we reached City Hall", he asked.

"Like I said before, no one's even seen the big glory hound since last night. Doc and Jared searched every inch of both the Old Mill and the Boiler Room, but by the time they had started looking, he was already gone. They figure that he's gone into hiding, after all, pretty much the whole town hates him right now", Jenna reasoned. "What I can't figure is why Nikki, Kaltag, and Star haven't gone looking for him yet", she pondered.

"Because they're probably even more scared of him right now than they are of me. After all, what they did last night was pretty heavy. They saved the entire town, but they also defied Steele for the first time, and sided with his worst enemy, so I'm sure they're on his hit list as well as me", Balto explained, his voice hinting satisfaction.

"You're happy about this?", Jenna asked, surprised.

"I know I shouldn't be, but even you have to admit it's kind of ironic", Balto replied.

"You know Balto, they're not such bad guys", Jenna reminded him.

Balto raised his eyebrows, confused, he had always figured that Jenna had shared his dislike towards the dogs.

"Last night, Steele fell off a cliff, and instead of trying to save him, or even avenge what they thought was his death, they chose to side with you to save the children. Which means they do have at least some sense of compassion. Steele may be too far gone for you to save, but that doesn't mean that you can't still help his disciples to make the right decision", Jenna reasoned.

Balto sighed, but deep down, the wolf-dog knew that Jenna was right. Balto knew that Nikki, Kaltag, and Star had only pretended to hate wolves simply because Steele did, because they knew siding that with Balto could result in them being ostracized, or worse, face the psychotic malamute's wrath. Steele's prejudice towards wolves seemed much too deeply rooted for the malamute to ever change his self-centered ways, but his three ex-followers still had a chance at redemption.

"The choice is yours Balto, you can either keep holding onto this pointless grudge, or you could choose to forgive them, and lighten some of the weight on all of your shoulders", Jenna suggested.

After thinking for a few more minutes, Balto lifted his head, his face determined. "I know what I have to do when I see them again", he replied.

At that, Balto laid down on the kitchen floor again, and Jenna laid down next to him.

"You know what I wish right now?", Jenna abruptly asked, after thinking quietly for a few minutes.

"What?", Balto inquired.

"I wish we could go somewhere we can be alone, away from all the crowds and the other dogs, like we did last night", Jenna explained, sighing.

Balto thought about that for a few minutes, before his face lit up. "I think I know just the place", he said, grinning.

"Where?", Jenna asked, curious.

"It's best as a surprise, but trust me, you'll love it when you see it", Balto replied, a mischievous grin on the wolf-dog's face.

"Alright, let's see this wonderful surprise then", Jenna said sarcastically.

"Okay then, follow me", Balto said, standing up.

Jenna sighed, and followed the hybrid as he climbed through the dog door, leaving the now empty house behind him.

"Just remember Jen, you have to stay patient, cause this walk could take a while", Balto told the husky, before he suddenly broke into an all-out run.

Balto and Jenna ran down Front Street, but Jenna struggled just to keep up with her half-wolf fiancée. "Wait, where are we even going?", Jenna shouted, confused.

"You'll see!", Balto replied, grinning again.

At that, Balto ran out of town and towards the woods, with Jenna right behind him.

**((()-()))**

**_Author's Note_**:

The title of this chapter is a nod to the 2005 Balto story "**_Same Hero, Old Enemy_**", which involves Steele returning to Nome, and trying to get revenge on Balto through his young son, Kodi.


	5. Chapter 5: The Meadow

**_Chapter Five:_**

**_The Meadow_**

**_Outside Nome, Alaska, 11:00 A.M. Monday, February 2, 1925:_**

As the sun continued to rise over the Alaskan skyline, two canines walked briskfully through the forest. The lead one was walking slowly, but his impatient companion was sure that the wolf-dog was only walking so slow just so she could keep up with him.

Jenna groaned and looked up in the sky, it had to be past 11:00 A.M. by now, and it felt like they had been walking for hours. She glanced at the trees they were passing by. They were all covered in ice and snow from the recent blizzard, so they all looked exactly the same, and by now, the husky was sure that they were walking in circles. "Balto, where are we even going?", she eventually asked, annoyed.

"I told you, you'll see", Balto replied.

"That's what you said an hour ago", Jenna reminded him.

"We're halfway there, just keep being patient", Balto reassured her.

"We're only half-way?", she asked, her voice disbelieving.

Balto nodded, and kept walking, with an annoyed Jenna not far behind him.

Jenna then raced forward so she could speak to the hybrid face to face. "Okay, that's it, just admit that we're lost", she said.

"Trust me on this, you'll see… those were your words from this morning, remember?", Balto reminded her, grinning.

Jenna grumbled and continued to follow the wolf-dog. "Just answer me this, oh fearless leader", she asked, a sarcastic tone to her voice.

Balto raised his eyebrows, and glanced at husky, eager to her question.

"What if we run into any wolves along the way?", she inquired, raising her eyebrows.

But instead of answering the concerned husky's question, Balto chuckled lightly.

"I don't really see where being eaten alive is very funny", Jenna frowned.

Hearing Jenna's serious tone, Balto stopped laughing, and turned to face the husky. "Jenna, we'll be fine. Wolves don't usually bother dogs because of their connection to humans", he explained, his voice reassuring.

"But what if they're hostile?", Jenna asked.

"Then I'll communicate with them, and see if I can reason with them", Balto replied.

"But what if they're rabid?", Jenna asked, growing increasingly worried.

Balto thought for a moment, and then placed his paws around Jenna's shoulders. "Then I would protect you until my last breath", he replied.

As the husky looked into Balto's eyes, she saw that the wolf-dog was 100% serious. "You would, wouldn't you?", she realized, stunned.

Balto nodded, and then stepped back, before beginning his swift pace again. "Besides, it's not the wolves you should be worried about Jen", Balto said, his mood light again.

"It's not?", Jenna asked, confused.

Balto stopped again, and turned towards the husky. "You said Steele hasn't been found anywhere in Nome. So think Jenna, if I were an outcast, and I had a dog posse on my tail, where would I hide?", he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"In the woods?", Jenna replied, alarmed.

Balto nodded again, and Jenna quickly turned to survey her surroundings.

"He's nowhere near here Jenna, I can't see, hear, or smell him, but I'm still taking a big risk by bringing you out here", he reassured her, but Jenna could tell that Balto was still worried too.

"If you think there's such a big risk, then why would we come here then?", Jenna asked, genuinely confused.

"Because there's something I want to show you, and something that we need to talk about when we get there", he explained, looking towards a spot farther in the woods.

Jenna couldn't see what Balto was staring at, but she guessed that his eyesight was significantly greater than hers, due to the wolf-blood flowing in his veins. Finally, Balto took his eyes off the mountains, and started walking again.

"Why can't we talk about it now?", Jenna asked, this time walking side by side with Balto.

"Would you believe, I'm setting the mood?", he asked, already knowing the answer.

"No", she replied.

Balto laughed, and started to walk a little bit slower.

"You don't have to keep doing that", Jenna said, annoyed.

"Keep doing what?", Balto asked, curious.

"Deliberately walking slowly so I can keep up with you. Just because I'm not a sled dog, doesn't mean that I'm some kind of snail", Jenna explained.

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you if you can't keep up", Balto replied, shrugging.

"I'll take that as a challenge, I bet I can beat you to wherever it is we're going", Jenna said, mock growling.

"Okay then, you're on", Balto replied, before breaking into a sprint.

But as Balto and Jenna dashed into the forest at full speed, they were completely unaware of that something was following them.

**((()-()))**

**_Nome, Alaska, 11:30 A.M. Monday, February 2, 1925:_**

Back in City Hall, Daniel Sutherland slowly put away Balto's adoption files, and grumbled to himself as he continued to get wet ink all over his hands. "_Damn wolf_", he cursed quietly. It had been so hard for the man to mask his hatred towards the wolf-dog earlier that morning. The truth was that Sutherland despised dogs and hated wolves even more, just like everyone else in town used to. Daniel himself wished that all the wolves in the world were dead, and hanging on someone's walls. But suddenly, one half-wolf freak goes and saves a town by accident, and the next day, every simpleton in town claims he's some kind of hero.

"_The next thing you know, they'll be wanting us to adopt wolves as pets, train them, and maybe even rehabilitate them, hah!_", Daniel laughed mentally.

Letting a half-wolf legally move into Nome had been the hardest thing Daniel had ever done in his career, but keeping his job meant sometimes having to swallow his pride. Besides, the man knew that Balto's residence in Nome would never last, eventually the half-wolf would slip up, and give him an opportunity to declare him a threat to the public safety - allowing him to banish the mongrel back to the wilderness where he belonged.

Suddenly, Daniel's satisfactory thoughts were interrupted by a loud noise, and the mayor realized that someone was knocking on the door to his office.

"I already told you people a thousand times, I don't want an interview!", he shouted, growing tired of the local press constantly knocking on his door ever since the serum run.

"Danny, It's me, Gunnar Kaasen!", an annoyed voice replied.

Daniel frowned, but then sighed. "Come on in", he muttered.

The door creaked open, and a tall, well-built man stepped inside - Gunnar Kaasen, the injured musher from the serum run.

"What do you want?", Daniel asked sourly.

"I came to ask if you could hold a town meeting", Gunnar asked, immediately getting the point.

"For what?", Daniel inquired, raising his eyebrows.

"As you are aware, Steele has not been since last night, and if he doesn't return soon, we'll need someone to replace him on the team", Gunnar explained, sitting in a chair in front of the mayor's desk.

Daniel sat in the opposing chair, and scowled at Gunnar.

"Choosing whatever cockamamie dog you want as your lead should be simple, why would you want to hold a town vote about it?", Daniel asked, annoyed that Gunnar would even waste his time with such idiotic requests.

"Trust me mayor, the town will want a say in this decision", Gunnar said, hoping to reassure the man.

Daniel scoffed, and stood up again. "The answer's no", he replied.

Gunnar chuckled, having already anticipated such a reaction from Sutherland. "Need I remind you that as mayor of this town, participating in public events and meetings will bring you good publicity?", Gunnar asked.

Daniel simply stared at Gunnar, confused.

"The serum run is the biggest news to hit Nome in decades, so I suggest that you ride this wave of free publicity for as long as you can and embrace it, who knows, it just might get you a second term in office?", Gunnar suggested, lifting his eyebrows.

Daniel thought about Gunnar's words for a few moments, and cleared his throat, before finally slammed his fist down on his desk. "Okay Mr. Kaasen, you've got yourself a meeting!", he declared.

Gunnar smiled, and outstretched his hand so that Daniel could shake it, however, Sutherland only continued to stare at the musher's hand.

"Don't push your luck man", Daniel said, puffing out his chest.

Gunnar's smile faltered slightly, but nonetheless, the musher bid the mayor good-bye, and walked out the front door.

Once outside, Gunnar breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He couldn't tell Daniel the real reason he wanted to hold a meeting, because the man would have simply rejected it from the moment he asked.

Gunnar turned and glanced at the local hospital, which was still filled with recovering children, but they were a lot better in one day than they had all week. All because of one half-wolf, a hybrid that had not only saved his life, but the lives of everyone in town, and pretty soon, Gunnar was going to repay the wolf-dog tenfold.

Gunnar topped his hat to a woman who passed him by, and then walked off, the musher was going to visit the hospital like everyone else in Nome. But first, he had to make one more trip to the local general store, so he could pick up a very special gift for a friend of his.

Unaware to Gunnar, a brown Afghan hound had been listening to the eager musher's entire conversation with the mayor. Even though she had been outside, she had used her large ears to eavesdrop. "_Town meeting?_", she muttered, as Gunnar walked past her.

"_Dixie's gotta know about this_", Sylvie thought, before running off to go find her best friend.

But unbeknownst to Sylvie, the evil malamute that had been watching her and Dixie from the rooftops earlier was now gone. Steele was no longer in Nome, but instead, deep within the forest, tailing his unsuspecting prey.

**((()-()))**

**_Alaskan Mountains, 11:45 A.M. Monday, February 2, 1925:_**

After running with Balto for more than 10 minutes, Jenna was completely exhausted. She had given it her best try, but was already tired from walking for so long. She knew she could beat the wolf-dog, if she just had some time to rest. "That's it, I can't walk anymore", she said, before lying down in the snow and panting heavily.

Balto smiled, and turned around. "Well, that's good, cause we're finally here", he said, pointing his chin in the direction of their destination.

"And where exactly is 'here'?", Jenna asked sourly.

"At the East base of the Alaskan mountains, we're only a few miles outside Nome", Balto explained, lying down next her.

Jenna continued to pant, and turned her head to look behind her. "Are you sure that we've only gone a few miles? It feels like 15", she asked.

Balto nodded in reply, and then stood up, looking genuinely concern about Jenna's health. "Think you can walk a few more feet? The place we need to go is just beyond those bushes", he asked, pointing his chin in the direction of a thick brush.

Jenna sighed, and then stood up.

"That-a girl!", Balto shouted, happily praising the husky.

"After all this traveling, this place had better be good", she said, brushing past him.

"Don't worry, it is", Balto reassured her, before running past the husky.

Jenna watched as Balto ran into the thick brush and seemingly disappeared.

Jenna sighed again, but just kept walking, hoping to catch up with Balto eventually.

"**_Amy In The TARDIS_**" by Murray Gold begins.

Jenna walked through the bushes, and carefully avoided branch after branch as they popped up at her from all sides. Above the brush were a pair of large pine trees that were blocking out the overhead sunlight, creating a sort of dark archway. The snow crunched underneath Jenna's feet, further distracting the husky. In the process, Jenna lost sight of her fiancée in the dark brush, since she had been distracted fighting her way through the thorny branches.

Jenna knew that running through the bushes had been so easy for Balto. With his newly enhanced eyesight he could see right through the darkness, and his dexterity had allowed him to dodge the bushes easily, while his husky girlfriend just kept bumping into things. "Balto, where are you?", she asked, worried.

To her relief, Balto quickly responded to her cries, though his voice sounded more distant now. "I'm not too far up ahead, just keep on walking", he reassured her, his voice conveying the eagerness the hybrid felt.

Finally, Jenna could see a bright light at the end of the darkened path, and she quickly recognized it as being an opening in one of the bushes. "Finally", she muttered, exasperated.

Jenna pushed the last few branches out of the way, and stepped into the bright sunlight. Jenna gasped in shock, as the husky tried to comprehend what was directly before her. Finally, she realized what it was.

Beauty. Unimaginable beauty like nothing she had ever seen before.

Balto had taken her to a meadow, but it was much bigger than any meadow or field she had seen before, and was covered from head to toe in freshly fallen snow. Whatever flowers that had grown in the meadow during the spring had already been crushed a long time ago, underneath several feet of snow, but it wasn't flowers that made this particular meadow beautiful. Instead, the meadow's beauty came from it's sunlight. The snow on the ground was reflecting the sun's ultraviolet rays, creating a sort of glittering effect. The meadow itself seemed to sparkle in the sun, and some of the beams even bounced off Jenna's fur coat, but the husky barely even noticed it. The arctic air blew in from the nearby mountains, but the open sunlight had heated the air in the meadow's significantly, creating the perfect temperature, not too hot, and too cold.

And in the center of the meadow, Jenna could see him. Balto was standing perfectly still, looking at her, and waiting for her reaction. The wind blew his fur in an odd way, and it almost looked like it was alive. But Jenna loved it. The sun was reflected in Balto's eyes, causing his already deep yellow eyes to sparkle along with the rest of the meadow. The sun also reflected off his teeth, especially his canines, and seemed to create a sort of wolfish grin. For the third time since the husky had first met him, Balto looked more like a wolf than a dog. Before that day, it would have frightened her to death, but over the past few years, Jenna had grown used to Balto's wolf half, and she found it strangely inviting now, because she knew the wolf-dog posed no real danger to her.

"Well, what do you think?", Balto asked anticipantly.

Jenna took a moment to think of suitable answer, and breathed in the crystal clear mountain air. Even the air surrounding them tasted amazing to her. To Jenna, it tasted just like freshly fallen snow. "It's amazing. Balto, how did you even know this place was here?", she asked, curious.

Balto grinned, and walked forward, his feet lightly brushing through the snow. "When I was young, Steele chased me into the forest once", Balto explained, his voice wistful. "I was so scared that I just kept running for hours and hours until I found this place", he continued, placing his paw on top of Jenna's.

"It was so beautiful, and I had never seen anything like it, I don't think anyone has", Balto mused, lying down in the snow. He beckoned for Jenna to come join him, and the husky gladly agreed, resting her feet again for the first time in hours.

"Sometimes, I would come up here whenever I wanted to be alone, and I would think about life, about love, and about you", Balto continued, turning to smile at Jenna.

Jenna smiled back, and the couple moved even closer together.

"I was worried that we wouldn't make it back here before noon, cause that's when the meadow is the most beautiful", Balto explained, pointing at the sun. At that moment, the sun was at it's highest point in the sky, and it's dazzling sunlight was illuminating the entire meadow, causing it to come alive.

"Thank you Balto, for showing me this place", Jenna said, smiling.

"Hey, that's what friends are for", Balto happily replied.

"I think that we're a little bit more than friends", Jenna reminded him, grinning now.

"Yeah, we are, aren't we?", Balto chuckled, placing his arm around Jenna, and hugging the husky tightly.

**((()-()))**

**_Nome Alaska, 12:00 P.M. Monday, February 2, 1925:_**

The hospital in Nome was still packed with worried parents, and all of them were there for the same reason that Thomas and Evelyn Jones were, to feed mid-day breakfast and lunch to their sick children.

Among the sickly children, Rosie Jones lied in her hospital bed. The girl was still too weak to walk, but nonetheless was still making a rapid recovery, and Tom and Eve hoped to be able to take her home by the end of the next week.

After they had given Rosie her breakfast that morning, Tom and Eve had remained by her side for hours, telling her stories and reminding her how much they loved her. Rosie, whose memory was still pretty blurry of the previous week, didn't really understand why her parents were being so extra-affectionate that day, but she didn't argue about it either.

Finally, after telling Rosie about the success of the serum run, the girl had asked them the most obvious question. "So does this mean that Balto can stay with us now?", she asked, her voice hopeful.

"I'll think about it dear", Tom replied.

Rosie hung her down, disappointed, before Tom chuckled lightly.

"I'm just kidding, I already filled out the papers this morning", he said, smiling.

Rosie's eyes lit up in surprise. "You did?", she squealed.

Tom nodded in reply, and Rosie quickly leaned forward, hugging the man affectionately.

Tom laughed and rubbed Rosie's head softly, as the girl cried tears of joy.

"Now, Now, save you energy dear, you're gonna need it to beat this cold", a nearby nurse said, walking over to the hospital bed.

Evelyn smiled as she saw the woman. Eve quickly recognized the nurse as being the same woman who had handed her a cup of water the night before.

Rosie nodded in agreement, and lied down in her bed, but the girl was still brimming with excitement - after asking her parents over and over again for so many years, Balto was finally going to live with her and Jenna.

After giving Rosie a few more details about Balto's adoption, the nurse, a war veteran named Emily Morgan, suggested that the girl take another nap, hoping it would speed up Rosie's recovery rate by another few hours. Rosie reluctantly agreed, and was sleeping peacefully again in less than five minutes.

"Wow, the children sure are making a fast recovery", Tom observed, while surveying the room.

"Yeah, and it's all thanks to that wolf-dog, without him, all the children in this hospital would have surely perished. God bless that dog", Emily replied, smiling.

Eve nodded in agreement, and stroked Rosie's forehead.

"Is it true what you said to your daughter? About adopting him?", Emily asked Tom, curious.

"Yep, I have copies of his adoption papers in my pocket", Tom replied, proudly patting his coat pocket.

"Well you make sure you take good care of that dog Mr. Jones, you never know when a town like Nome needs a hero like him again", Emily said, before walking off to treat all the other sick patients.

Tom chuckled, and looked back at Rosie. Rosie had asked him about adopting the stray just a few weeks ago, and he had thought the idea was hilarious. But now, after all that Balto had done for Nome, and for his dying daughter, the man knew that wolf truly understood and cared about humanity.

"_The world needs more human-beings like that wolf-dog, maybe then, the world would be a better place_", Tom thought happily, watching as the other parents continued to soothe their children.

"Yeah, he certainly is something, isn't he?", a voice from behind Tom said proudly.

Thomas and Evelyn turned around to see Gunnar Kaasen standing behind them, a wide smile on the musher's face.

"Mr. Kaasen, I see you're feeling a lot better than the last time we saw you", Eve observed, smiling.

"Please, call me Gunnar. And yes, I've got a little bump on my noggin, but otherwise I'm fine", Gunnar replied, shaking both Tom and Eve's hand.

"Then what brings you here?", Tom inquired, curious.

"I came by to visit the children and see how they're doing", Gunnar explain, softly rubbing Rosie's head.

Evelyn walked over, and joined Gunnar in rubbing her sleeping daughter's forehead. "My little angel, I thought I'd never see her again after last night", Eve whispered, rubbing Rosie's head, as she remembered the painful memories of the night before.

"Ma'am, no mother or father should ever have to go through what's been happening these past few weeks", Gunnar said, a sympathetic look on the man's face. Even though the middle-aged musher had no children of his own, he still understood what it felt like to watch a loved one wither away and die, and the awful feeling of helplessness that came from it.

"Still, it all worked out in the end didn't it? I just still don't know how Balto found me out there in that blizzard", Gunnar mused.

"We'll probably never know", Tom added.

"Does it even matter? Everyone's safe now", Eve interjected.

"Yeah, that's actually the other reason I dropped by. There's a town meeting being held tonight, and I'd like you two to come", Gunnar offered.

"We're kind of busy tonight", Tom replied, not wanting to leave his daughter's side until she was 100% healthy again.

"Trust me, it's very important that you come tonight. Because the meeting's about your dog. It's about Balto", Gunnar explained.

Tom and Eve gasped, and stepped backwards in shock.

"Wait, what do you mean?", Tom asked, confused.

"I mean that tonight's meeting regards both Balto's and the town's future", Gunnar explained.

"_But what about Rosie?_", Eve whispered, subconsciously rubbing her daughter's head again.

"I promise you, I'll make sure someone is watching your daughter at all times during the meeting. If all goes well, it should be a pretty meeting short anyway", Gunnar replied.

Tom and Eve hesitated for a seconds, before finally nodding their heads in agreement.

"Excellent, I'll see you at City Hall, tonight at 7:00 sharp", Gunnar said, grinning.

The man then bid them good-bye, and glanced at the sick children one last time, before walking outside. While exiting, the musher reached into his coat pocket, and anticipantly felt the object he had been concealing from the couple the whole time. Inside his pocket was a large leather collar, with the name "_Balto_" engraved into it's silver tags. It was the gift he had picked up right before he left for the hospital, and if all went well that night, he would present it to Balto after the meeting was over. Balto would need the collar, not just for protection and identification, but also for his new position. Gunnar slowly slipped the collar back into his pocket, and silently prayed that the upcoming meeting would go well.

**((()-()))**

**_Nome Alaska, 12:30 P.M. Monday, February 2, 1925:_**

"**_The Mad Man With A Box_**" by Murray Gold begins.

As the hours gradually ticked by, Balto and Jenna continued to lie in the meadow, enjoying the feeling of the cold snow beneath their fur. They had spent the last half-hour talking about relatively small things, like they normally did when they were together, but today they both had something that they felt they needed to get off their chests. There were still a few questions about their relationship that they knew had to be answered.

"Jenna, I love you", Balto said, breaking the silence.

"I love you too", Jenna replied.

Balto smiled, but there was still something bothering him. Jenna's reply had sounded like an automatic response to him, instead of a genuine feeling of affection, or maybe the hybrid was just being paranoid. He still had something he had been wanting to ask her all morning, but he knew that once he did, it would change their relationship forever - again.

Still, Balto had to know if Jenna's feelings about him were still true, and the wolf-dog blurted out his question before he could stop himself. "So does that mean you'll still marry me?", he asked suddenly.

Jenna turned to Balto, and smiled. "Of course, why wouldn't I?", she asked curiously.

Balto chuckled awkwardly, and rubbed the back of his neck, feeling embarrassed that he had doubted her devotion to him.

"It's just that, so far this has been the best day of my life, and I know this sounds kind of clichéd, but it's all happening so fast that it almost feels like I'm in some sort of dream. The kind of dream where everything's peaceful and perfect, and when you wake up, it's all gone", he explained, obviously putting a lot of thought into his answer.

"Well, if this is a dream, I'm glad we're both in it", Jenna replied, snuggling closer to Balto. The wolf-dog's fur felt so warm to her, and so soothing. Jenna knew that wolves always ran a slightly higher temperature than most dogs, allowing them to survive in the cold Alaskan wilderness. This was no doubt one of the reasons that Balto had survived as an outcast for so long.

Balto leaned forward, and kissed the husky on the neck, softly licking her with his tongue. Jenna shivered, the feeling of the wolf-dog's gentle tongue touching the top her neck gave her goosebumps, and sent shivers flying up her spine. As Balto continued to lick Jenna's neck, it began to turn the husky on, and her heart started to beat faster with every second. The combination of her passion and the heightened sense of danger she felt every time she was around Balto only succeeded in making Jenna's heart beat even harder.

Balto could hear the husky's heartbeat speeding up, but he was so absorbed into the moment, he barely even paid any attention to it. Suddenly, and without any kind of warning, Jenna leapt forward, and collided into Balto.

Shocked, the wolf-dog landed on his back, and Jenna stepped onto the his chest. But before Balto could protest, Jenna found herself kissing the hybrid passionately on the lips, in the same way Balto had suddenly kissed her after his proposal the night before.

During the heat of the moment, both dogs started to roll across the snowy ground, but they hardly even paid any attention to it. Balto and Jenna continued to roll across the meadow, until they finally hit into a nearby rock, sending them both into a daze.

The pain of the collision causing her to finally come back to her senses again, Jenna blushed, and rubbed the back of her aching head. "I'm so sorry Balto, I know that was kind of sudden, I just hope I didn't come on too strong", she quickly apologized, feeling really embarrassed.

Balto shook his head, trying to distract himself from the pain, before standing up. "Don't worry about it, ow, I kind of liked it", Balto replied, imitating Jenna's words from the night before. Balto winced in pain again, as the wolf-dog tried to stretch out his sore body. "Shall we try again?", he offered, before reaching out his paw.

"You're not serious, are you? That last kiss was a disaster", Jenna asked, surprised.

"Eh, why not? Trust me, I've been in a whole lot worst pain these last few days", Balto reminded her, grinning.

Jenna giggled, and ran forward again.

At that, Balto and Jenna kissed again for what felt like the fifth time in less than 24 hours. However, the happy couple never seemed to get tired of the feeling of each other's lips. It just felt so good to finally be free. To finally be able to admit their feelings for each other without the fear of being judged by all their friends and enemies. While they were kissing, Balto realized that this was their official date (not including the night underneath the hospital, or the tour they shared when they pups), and kissed the husky even harder.

After a few more minutes, Balto and Jenna pulled away from each other. But instead of gasping for air like they normally did, they both breathed in slowly this time, savoring the moment. Eventually, they laid down in the snow again, unsure about what to say or do next.

"So, what now?", Balto asked.

"What do you mean?", Jenna asked.

"The wedding is still on, right? So how _will_ we get married? There's no way that the town alpha will allow our marriage", Balto reminded Jenna.

Balto knew that every town and village in Alaska had a town alpha, someone to control the canine population and prevent mass hysteria from erupting during a crisis (a delicate balance of power that was ironically similar to a wolf pack). But what Balto didn't know was whether or not Nome's alpha, a large Saint Bernard named Doc, was against wolves, since he had never even met the dog in person before.

"We'll just have to meet with Doc, and demand that he wed us, we're legal citizens of Nome, just like everyone else, and we have to right be married if we want to", Jenna said, determined.

At that, Balto chuckled loudly, and fell backwards on the ground.

"What's so funny?", she asked, leaning over him.

"Jenna, you don't just demand something from an alpha dog, especially considering our current status in this town", he explained, sitting up again.

"Which would be?", she asked, offended.

"As the town freak, and the freak lover, no offense", Balto explained, quickly adding the last part.

"None taken", Jenna grumbled, before speaking again. "Listen, I'm sure Doc is nice person, and I'm sure he'll understand true love", she insisted, lying down next to Balto.

"It's not just Doc's beliefs we should be worried about, it's the beliefs of everyone in town Jen. Me living in Nome has probably already upset some of the other dogs, imagine what would happen if they found out a stray wolf-dog was intent on marrying a purebred housedog?", Balto explained, his tone cautious.

"Pretty soon an angry mob would build up, one made up of some the most prejudiced dogs in Nome. If Doc allowed us to married, then they would probably use it as an excuse overthrow Doc for his position as alpha, and I'm sure Doc knows that", he continued, his voice solemn.

Jenna scowled, though the husky knew Balto was right, and eventually laid down again. "Our lives can just never be easy, can they?", she murmured sarcastically.

"Hey, we both made it this far didn't we? I'm sure we'll find a way to think of something, eventually", Balto reassured her, placing his paws on top of hers.

Jenna smiled, and laid on top of Balto's stomach, breathing in his familiar musk. Despite what many humans and dogs may have thought about the hybrid based on his rugged appearance, Balto tried to keep himself cleaned regularly, by washing in creeks and rivers. To Jenna, Balto mostly smelled like the forest - like earth, leaves, and wood, along the signature scent of a wolf. Jenna knew his smell by hard and would be able to track the scent of her beloved in a large crowd of dogs, easily.

"So what are you gonna sing?", she asked suddenly.

"What?", Balto replied, confused.

"When we go to Old Mill tonight, what song are you gonna sing?", Jenna explained.

"I'm not gonna sing anything, because I'm not going inside the Old Mill", Balto replied stubbornly.

"We have to meet with Doc eventually, and the Old Mill's the best place to find him, Besides, you're now a newcomer in Nome, so it's an Alaskan tradition to perform your first song in public, after all, you're the one who first told me, remember?", Jenna reminded the hybrid, a playful tone to her voice.

Balto frowned and then groaned, remembering how he had first told Jenna of the tradition during their youth.

"You know it's pointless to argue", Jenna said confidently.

However the wolf-dog didn't reply, but instead, only sighed again.

"You know, it's just the two of us out here, we could always practice your vocals right now. I could help you, like how you helped me when we just kids", Jenna suggested, her voice hopeful.

"No, absolutely not. There is no way you're going to get me to sing", Balto replied, shaking his head.

Jenna sat up, and raised her eyebrows skeptically.

**((()-()))**

**_Nome, Alaska, 12:55 P.M. Monday, February 2, 1925:_**

As Balto and Jenna laid in the meadow, perfectly content in the peace and serenity of nature, trouble was brewing back in Nome. A small group of dogs were gathered inside the Old Mill, and they were all in a frenzy about a very important public matter. After learning about Balto's adoption that morning, some of the most prejudiced dogs in Nome, mostly the males, had gathered in the Old Mill to discuss the matter, and what they would do next.

"I say we run him out of town!", one dog eagerly suggested, grinning.

"I say we beat that wolf-dog to a pulp first, and then run him out of town! It would put him back in his place", another dog suggested, adding onto the previous idea.

In the midst of the angry mob, a large and elderly Saint Bernard stood up, sick and tired of listening to all the other dogs' biased suggestions. "QUIET!", he barked angrily, his patience running out.

Silence immediately fell over the room, since everyone in Nome feared the elderly dog.

"Balto has been adopted into this town, legally, and whether you like it or not, there is nothing any of you can do about the matter", Doc reminded the group, his voice stern.

"Doc, you can't be thinking of letting that mongrel stay here, in our town, can you?", one dog angrily said, an arrogant tone to his voice.

Doc turned his head around to glare at the dog, his eyes blazing. Doc slowly walked forward, at a steady pace, until his face was only inches from the dog's. "Listen to me, and listen to me good Blaze, because I'm only going to say this once", Doc warned, having to fight hard to control his anger at the dog.

Blaze tried to hide his fear of the Saint Bernard, trying to hang onto his dignity like his idol Steele would, but inside the husky was terrified. There was a one very important reason that Doc was the undisputed town alpha, his fiery temper.

"Balto is staying here in this town for as long as he wants, it is his legal right! And if I see you and your band of thugs giving him or Jenna any kind of trouble, then I will personally throw _YOU_ out of town! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?", Doc shouted, putting heavy emphasis on the end.

Blaze reluctantly nodded his head, and backed away, wanting to get as far away from the enraged dog as possible.

"Do you all understand?", Doc reiterated, wanting to get his point across. Most of the dogs in the room raised their paws in the air, though some seemed to show resentment towards the old dog.

"I know you all have different opinions about Balto, and I know I can't change that, but I'm not going to make the same mistake I made with Steele", Doc announced, his voice as cold as ice.

"For years, I just stood idly by and let Steele run this town, and when we needed him the most, he abandoned our team, putting dozens of innocent lives at risk", Doc said, his voice slowly softening.

"Now, that wolf-dog that you are all so determined to hate, you beated him, and mocked him, and outcasted him, but he still saved the lives of all your owners' children!", Doc shouted, his voice raising again.

Some of the dogs hung their heads in shame, remembering the wolf-dog's kindness, while others continue to scoff and hang onto their pride.

"And not because of you, no! He did it because he couldn't stand to just sit by and watch your children suffer, that _wolf_ that you all hate has a heart! Which is more than what I can say for you, and for Steele!", Doc continued, pacing the group.

Doc eventually stopped walking and turned to scowl at the group's leader, Blaze, who had quickly regained some of his swagger.

"I don't give a damn about your so-called canine supremacy, or even what your fathers have taught you about purity! Balto is staying here in Nome! And if any of you decide you want to be like Steele, then you will be punished like Steele will be when I find him!", Doc declared, stamping his feet on the floor to make his point.

"This meeting is adjourned. All of you, get out now!", Doc said, his voice low and hard.

All the dogs in the room reluctantly stood up, and walked out of the Old Mill, angrily muttering to themselves. They had never seen Doc so angry about something in years, and some of them still couldn't believe that he had taken Balto's side over theirs.

As Doc watched them all leave, the Saint Bernard sighed, and walked the other way. The old dog had meant every word he had said, but he didn't know if he could stop the entire canine population if they decided to form a lynch mob against Balto. The wolf-dog's life was in more danger then it ever had been before, and Doc hoped that hybrid knew that, for both his and Jenna's sake.

**((()-()))**

**_Alaskan Mountains, 1:00 P.M. Monday, February 2, 1925:_**

"**_I Wanna Know You_**" by Hannah Montana and David Archuleta begins.

Deep in the mountain forests, an imaginary song began to play. "**_Whoa-Oh, Whoa-Oh, Whoa-Oh, Whoa-Oh, Whoa-Oh, Whoa-Oh!_**", a rust and cream colored husky began. "**_Whoa-Oh, Whoa-Oh, Whoa-Oh, Whoa-Oh, Whoa-Oh, Whoa-Oh!_**", Jenna vocalized, clapping her paws together to create a rhythm.

Balto frowned and rolled his eyes, he didn't know how he let Jenna talk him into this. Balto pressed his ears against his skull in his aggravation, because he already knew exactly how he had let Jenna talk him into this. The begging look, again. Someday, he was really going to have to put his foot down.

He didn't know why he hated singing so much, but he was always much too shy to sing in front a large crowd, whether they were dogs of wolves. But at least he could find comfort in knowing there was no one around to hear him sing besides Jenna.

"**_Whoa-Oh, Whoa-Oh!_**", Jenna continued, and pointed to Balto.

The wolf-dog sighed, already knowing that Jenna was signaling his cue. "**_Whoa!_**", he vocalized awkwardly. "**_Whoa-Oh, Whoa-Oh, Whoa-Oh, Whoa-Oh!_**", Jenna continued, entering the first verse.

"**_When I saw you over there, I didn't mean to stare, but my mind was everywhere, I Wanna Know You_**", Jenna sang. "**_Gonna guess that you're the kind to say what's on your mind, but you listen when I have something to show you_**", Balto sang unenthusiastically.

"_What an ironic lyric_", Balto thought, still annoyed with Jenna for making him do this. Still, the wolf-dog could feel something. Some part of him that was enjoying this. Some part of him that was born to perform. A part of him that he had buried years ago, and Jenna helped to bring it back.

"**_There's a mark above your eye, you got it in July, fighting for your sister's reputation_**", Balto and Jenna sang, Balto reluctantly joining in. "**_You remember people's names, and Valentines are lame!_**", Balto and Jenna sang. After resisting for long, Balto was beginning to feel the beat, and tapped his paws in tune to the song. "**_So you bring me flowers just for no occasion!_**", Jenna sang, smiling. "**_So I bring you flowers just for no occasion, Oh!_**", Balto sang, his voice simultaneous with Jenna's.

"**_Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, I Wanna Know You, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, I Wanna Go There, Where you go, I Wanna Find Out, What you know, and maybe someday down the road, I'll sit back and say to myself, Yeah, I thought so, thought so!_**", Balto and Jenna sang.

"I told you that you'd like it", Jenna grinned.

Balto grinned back, and then continued onto the second verse.

"**_You smile, never shout, you stand out in a crowd, you make the best of every situation, situation. Correct me if I'm wrong, you're fragile and you're strong, a beautiful and perfect combination, combination, Yeah!_**", Balto and Jenna sang, their voices in perfect harmony, before repeating the chorus section.

"**_Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Yeah! Whoa, Whoa, I Wanna Know You! Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, I Wanna Go There! Where you go, I Wanna Find Out_**", Balto and Jenna continued, "**_What you know!_**", Balto sang. "**_And maybe someday! Down the road! I'll sit back and say to myself_**", Balto and Jenna continued. "**_Hey!_**", Balto shouted. "**_I like how you are with me, In our future history, And maybe someday, Down the road, I'll sit back and say to myself, Yeah! I thought so! Thought so_**", Balto and Jenna sang, their voices echoing off the mountains.

"**_I thought so, Whoa, Whoa!_**", Balto sang. "**_Yeah_**", Jenna vocalized. "**_Yeah_**", Balto vocalized, smiling at the husky next to him. "**_Yeah! Whoa, Whoa, Oooh, Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!_**", Balto and Jenna sang. "**_Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Yeah, Yeah, I Wanna Know You! Yeah, Yeah, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Yeah, Yeah, I Wanna Go There! Where you go! I Wanna Find Out! What you know! And maybe someday down the road! Ooh! Sit back and say to myself… Ooh, Yeah!_**", Balto and Jenna sang, feeding off each other's energy. "**_I like how you are with me! Yeah, Yeah! In our future history, Yeah, Yeah! And maybe someday, Down the road, Yeah, Yeah, I'll sit down and say to myself, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, I thought so, I thought so, I Wanna Know You… Yeah, Yeah!_**", Balto and Jenna slowly finished, letting their voices fade away.

Taking their first deep breaths again in what seemed like forever, Balto and Jenna rested their strained vocal cords for a few minutes, before speaking again.

"Well?", Jenna asked.

Balto panted briefly, before answering the husky's question. "It was fun, I'd forgotten what it felt like to sing", Balto smiled. Ironically, singing had taken more out of the husky than running 675 miles had.

"So does that mean you'll sing tonight?", Jenna asked hopefully.

"Nope, probably not", Balto replied, grinning smugly.

"What? But what about that song we just did?", Jenna asked, her mouth hanging open in disbelief.

"I'll think about it Jen, singing with you in an empty meadow is one thing, but singing in front of a crowd is another thing entirely", Balto said, standing up.

"Listen, you braved a blizzard, a bear, an avalanche, and a psychotic malamute all in one night, and you're still afraid of singing in front of a crowd?", Jenna asked, confused.

"Yep", Balto repeated, looking up at the sky.

"Why are you so embarrassed of singing?", Jenna asked, frustrated.

Balto racked his brain, and Jenna watched as a confused expression washed over the hybrid's face. "I don't know… I think it has something to do with someone I knew as a pup", Balto said, his voice uncertain.

"I thought you didn't know anyone else when you were a kid?", Jenna asked, her frustration now replaced by confusion.

"I don't know. There's a whole chapter of my childhood that I don't remember - memories of my mom and dad that have been lost over the years. But I think I developed this fear this singing when I was young", Balto explained.

Balto looked up at the sky again, and suddenly gasped.

"What, what is it?", Jenna asked, standing up too.

"Judging by the position of the sun in the sky, it'll be 1:30 soon", Balto explained, carefully observing the sun and using it to estimate the exact time it was.

"So?", Jenna asked, still not quite sure what the hybrid meant.

"The sun starts to set at 5:00, and it took us more than two hours to get here Jenna, so unless we want to walk home in the dark, I suggest we leave soon", Balto explained, his voice concerned.

Jenna groaned, and then walked forward. "But I wanna stay here a little longer", she argued.

Balto turned around, and raised his eyebrows, his expression smug. "First you complained about how long it took us to get here, and now you don't want to leave?", Balto asked, a slightly gloating edge to his voice.

"There's something special about this place, something magical", Jenna explained, her voice yearning.

"Yeah, there is. But don't worry Jenna, I'll take you back here soon, earlier in the day, so we can spend the entire morning here", Balto offered.

Jenna hesitated at first, before eventually nodding her head in agreement.

"Good, I wanna check on Rosie's condition when we get back", Balto said, starting to walk back towards the direction they had came earlier.

"_Rosie_", Jenna whispered, shocked. During the non-stop excitement of the morning, she had almost forgotten about her sickly owner. And now, the husky felt guilty about how easily she had let the sick girl slip her mind.

"But they don't allow animals in the hospital anymore, remember?", Jenna reminded Balto. Now that the children of Nome were recovering, the hospital had stopped allowing animals inside the hospital, in fear that letting any dogs and cats near the patients could somehow infect the children, and halt their recovery.

"We're not going inside the hospital, we're taking the tunnel", Balto explained, his voice anticipant.

Jenna smiled, remembering the night they had spent underneath the hospital the week before. She had enjoyed the night just as much as Balto had, since it was the first time she had gotten close to the husky in years, though the tunnel had been a bit too intimate for her taste.

Suddenly, an idea hit Jenna. She had lied in the meadow for more than an hour, and her body was well rested now. "Why don't we head back the way we came in, with a race?", Jenna challenged, her voice playful.

"Jen, I'm not gonna on keep racing my fiancée", Balto said, frowning.

"Afraid of losing this time?", Jenna teased, her voice playful.

At that, Balto grinned, he loved the way Jenna thought. "Okay, you're on, again", Balto agreed. The two dogs immediately bolted out of the meadow, and back into the bushes from which they had came.

While running at full speed, Balto and Jenna took one last look at the meadow. Balto was kind of sad to go, since the meadow had been a welcome place to chill off and relax, compared to the constant instability he had felt all morning while he was in Nome. Still, he was also more worried about Rosie at the moment, and decided that he could wait another day or two before returning to the meadow - Rosie would need his moral support now more than ever, to fight off the disease. Balto turned his head again, reluctantly leaving the meadow behind him.

As Balto and Jenna began to descend down the base of the mountain, they passed by many trees and rocks. Dodging all these obstacles was easy for Balto, and not just because of his dexterity. The world around him was moving at an incomprehensible blur, but somehow, his new wolf eyes could make out and distinct certain shapes, warning him of any upcoming danger. Balto looked back, and saw that Jenna only a few feet behind him. Balto grinned, and Jenna pushed herself forward even harder, gaining another few feet on her fiancée.

When Balto turned to look back at her a second time, his peripheral vision detected something strange, something that was not quite right. Balto tilted his head up to look at the area they just left, and saw a large distant shape moving, watching them from the meadow. The creature looked like it was watching them, like how a predator would watch it's prey. Against his will, Balto involuntarily blinked, and when the wolf-dog looked up again, the shape was gone.

Unsure of what the creature was or where it was, Balto turned to look at Jenna again, worried about the husky's safety. Noticing the concerned look on Balto's face, Jenna stared at her fiancée too, but was still running at breakneck speeds.

"What is it?", she asked, worried.

"I think I saw a bear or something back there, don't stop running", Balto told her, turning to look back at the meadow again. However, Balto still didn't see any sign of the creature, and began to wonder if it was all in his head, or whether it was just a trick of the light.

But as Balto and Jenna hastily ran further into the woods, a small golden object glittered brightly in the sunlight. The object was a shiny golden dog collar, the very same object that had alerted Balto's peripheral vision. And that shiny gold collar was attached to a very familiar black and white malamute.

Steele growled, angry about how close he had let Balto get to discovering him. He had followed Balto and Jenna's scent all the way into the forest, and only a few minutes ago, he had almost let them see him. The wolf-dog was much more aware than he had thought, and stalking him would be a lot more difficult now.

Steele had seen and heard almost everything the couple had done for the past few hours. He had heard Balto and Jenna talking about him on the way, and found delight in their obvious fear of him. He had seen Balto kissing Jenna, and had to fight to control his jealously, very nearly revealing his hiding place then. And he had also heard Balto's pathetic singing, during which, he had to struggle to keep himself from laughing. He could have just killed them then and there. But Steele had plan, a plan to make the world right again, and be top dog once again, but he had to patient until then. Balto's time would come soon enough.

Steele continued to watch the couple, as they rapidly descended down the mountain. Steele had to admit, Balto and Jenna dashed through the forest with amazing speed and grace, and they would be back in Nome in no more than two hours. Steele observed their path, and then ran the other way, further into the forest. Even though he was going in a completely different direction, Steele knew the forests surrounding Nome almost as well as Balto did, and would still make it back to town before they did. And once he made it back, Steele would continue to watch them in secret, until the time was right to strike.

**((()-()))**

**_Author's Note_**:

The idea of having Balto take Jenna to a meadow is an homage to Stephenie Meyer's best selling novels, "**_The Twilight Saga_**" (2005 - 2008). While the decision to include another homage at this point in the story might seem a bit strange, I felt Balto and Jenna needed some time alone to talk about their upcoming engagement. Temporarily getting them out of Nome also allowed me to focus a little bit more on this story's subplots, featuring Daniel, Gunnar, Tom, Eve, Rosie, and Blaze.

This chapter also introduces several new Murray Gold tracks, and expands on themes I already introduced in Part 1. For instance, "**_Amy in the TARDIS_**" is a combination of "**_Little Amy_**" and "**_Can I Come With You?_**", both of which I utilized during Balto and Jenna's childhood. "**_Little Amy_**", for when Balto saw Jenna for the first time, and "**_Can I Come With You?_**", when Jenna entered Balto's trawler, seeing the world from the wolf-dog's point of view for the first time. When Balto takes Jenna to meadow, she is entering the hybrid's world again for the first time in over three years, so it's only fitting that her old childhood themes should reappear during this moment.

This chapter also introduces the Eleventh Doctor's secondary theme, "**_The Mad Man With A Box_**", which you heard hints of during "**_A Cab For Amy Pond_**" in Part 1. This fun and whimsical track speaks about the Eleventh Doctor, and the two great loves of his life, his TARDIS and River Song. For "**_Heritage of the Wolf_**", it serves as Balto and Jenna's 'love theme', and evolves quite a bit over the course of the season.


	6. Chapter 6: The Meeting

**_Chapter Six:_**

**_The Town Meeting_**

**_Nome, Alaska, 4:00 P.M. Monday, February 2, 1925:_**

After more running for more than two and a half hours, Balto and Jenna finally ran back into familiar streets of Nome, both of them completely exhausted. Jenna had managed to tie with Balto in their race this time, although she still wasn't sure if he had just let her win this time.

Balto and Jenna panted heavily, and then stared at Front Street. Just like that morning, Nome's streets were still empty. Except this time, Balto could tell that the humans were starting to let their guard down a little. Instead of being inside the hospital, some of them were inside their homes and businesses, trying their best to resume their daily routines. The nurse had obviously ordered them to leave their sick children's bedsides, and return to their everyday lives for now.

Balto looked up at the sky again, and saw that the sun was already significantly lower in the sky, and was moving further towards the west. The sun would set again in less than two hours, covering the town in darkness for more than 13 hours. Balto knew that the nights in Alaska were extremely long, and that they were running out of time. "Come on Jen, let's go", he said, beckoning towards the hospital.

At that, Balto and Jenna quickly dashed down the streets, and ran around the side of the hospital until they come across a familiar wooden shed, located behind the main entrance. Balto knew this area well, for he had often traveled there dozens of times - not just because the outcast had wanted to learn more about human illnesses, but also because of the hidden beauty inside one of the secret passages.

For the second time in less than a week, Balto once again found himself using his paws to loosen one of the bolts on the door, before swinging it open for Jenna.

"Just like old times, wouldn't you say?", Balto teased lightly, before letting Jenna go before him as a common gesture.

Jenna smiled half-heartedly, and walked inside. It had only been the week before that the two had bonded inside that very same tunnel, but nonetheless, it had been an important milestone in their relationship. It was only fitting that they would get to redo that moment, on this, the greatest day of their lives.

As the two dogs crawled inside the hidden tunnel, Jenna shuddered slightly as her tail brushed up against several spider webs, the same thing that had happened to her during their last visit. As they crawled further into the tunnel, Balto and Jenna finally reached their destination, a section of the crawl space that was located directly underneath the hospital, separated only by a thin sheet of wood and an air vent.

"The clocktower said it was after 4:00, so they should be dispersing the medicine right about now", Balto theorized, cocking his ears so he could listen to the human voices above them.

"How do you know?", Jenna asked, curious.

"Antitoxin has to be injected once every four to five hours, and we delivered the medicine around midnight last night, so this be their fourth injection since then", Balto explained, trying to concentrate on listening to the doctors.

"How do you know so much about human medicine?", Jenna asked, amazed.

Balto turned to look at Jenna, a rueful smile on the wolf-dog's face. "I used to come here all the time when I was an outcast. Since I couldn't go anywhere else in Nome, I would spend hours lying underneath this hospital, learning all about human diseases and the medicine they use to treat them, it was all so fascinating to me", Balto explained. "You know, I know how to perform CPR", he added jokingly.

"Get out of town", Jenna replied, fighting back laughter.

"I'm serious Jen. If you're ever drowning in a lake or something, I'll always be there to breathe life back into you", Balto offered, a wolfish grin on the hybrid's face.

Jenna lightly slapped the back of his head, and turned to listen to the doctors again. The area beneath the hospital was just as tight and compressed as she had remembered, and she once again found herself being intimately pressed against Balto. But instead of the moment feeling tight and awkward like it had been before, she found herself liking it now. The area underneath the hospital was cold, but Balto's thick fur coat kept her perfectly warm. Besides, now that she had reconnected with Balto for the first time in three years, she actually liked being so close to him.

After listening to several children moan when the nurse, Ms. Morgan, injected them in the arm, Balto and Jenna listened closely as she started to talk to the doctor.

"That's all of them Dr. Welch, that's the fourth injection they've had since midnight, and they're still rapidly recovering", Emily happily informed him.

Balto turned to grin at Jenna, and the husky rolled her eyes.

"Good, I was worried that the frozen state of the medicine might have somehow rendered it useless", Dr. Welch replied, his voice relieved.

"On the contrary, it seems that chilling the medicine only has made it even more potent, at this rate, the children should be able to leave their beds by next week", Emily replied.

"We'll just have to wait and see, now that the blizzard is subsiding, another shipment should be arriving soon", Dr. Welch replied.

Balto breathed a collective sigh of relief. The blizzard that had prevent the antitoxin was beginning to die down, allowing another shipment of medicine to be delivered from Nenna. Still, Balto wondered how the medicine would be transported this time, there was still the 675 mile gap between Nenna and Nome, a distance that would take days to cross - and the hybrid would know. Balto listened further, as Dr. Welch spoke of Rosie's condition.

"Mr. Jones' daughter seems to be recovering the fastest, like she has a newfound will to live", Dr. Welch observed, amazed.

The nurse thought about the doctor's words for a few moments, before speaking. "I bet it's Balto, she had faith in him, and he didn't let her down. From what I've been told, they have a kind of special connection between dog and owner that I've never seen before", Emily mused.

"That could be it", Dr. Welch guessed, still unsure.

Realizing that that was all Dr. Welch and Nurse Morgan were going to say about the matter, Balto stepped back and stretched his sore legs before speaking again. "Come on Jen, let's go", he whispered.

Jenna nodded, and slowly followed him out of the tunnel. But as they were leaving, Jenna turned her head to look at the broken glass and bottle caps lying on the ground nearby. When light shone through them, it created a refraction effect similar to the Northern Lights, the very same trick she used to guide Balto home safely the night before. Jenna smiled, and crawled after Balto, leaving the way they came, through the broken door.

While stepping out into the daylight again, and walking back towards Rosie's home, Balto remembered something he had wanted to ask Jenna that morning, "So, what was up with this Dixie morning?", the wolf-dog asked, curious.

"What do you mean?", Jenna inquired, confused.

"The way she was acting, it was like she hated all men", Balto reminded Jenna, remembering the show dog's bitter attitude earlier that day.

"Dixie's taking Steele's betrayal really hard, I think it's first time in years that she's seen Steele for he really is", Jenna said, her voice disgusted.

"And that would be?", Balto asked, though he already knew the answer.

"A murderous, lying creep, who won't let anything stand between him and the spotlight, he deserves whatever punishment Doc gives him when he finds him", Jenna replied, letting out some of her own anger towards the malamute for the first time since the serum run.

Balto chuckled slightly, and stepped through the dog door of Rosie's house again. But instead sitting on the rug next to Jenna, Balto turned back towards the door. "Jenna, could you stay here for a few minutes? I have to do something", he said quietly.

"Do what?", Jenna asked, concerned.

"It's nothing you have to worry about", he reassured her, though his voice was reluctant.

After hesitating for a few moments, Jenna eventually nodded her head, and watched as Balto walked outside again.

Balto sighed once he was out of earshot - he hated lying to Jenna. But after hearing her talk about Steele, he was reminded that there was something he had to do. Something that he would probably regret. And something that he knew he had to do alone.

**((()-()))**

**_Nome, Alaska, 4:30 P.M. Monday, February 2, 1925:_**

Not too far away from Rosie's house, in a rather secluded and darkened alleyway, four worried dogs were hastily talking amongst themselves.

"Guys, I'm sure Balto doesn't hate you", Dixie said, rolling her eyes.

"He completely ignored us last night, and you didn't hear what he said about us this morning", Kaltag argued.

Dixie sighed after hearing the tan's husky words.

Nikki, Kaltag, and Star had all been unnerved ever since they had overheard Balto talking to Jenna that morning. The trio had heard all about Balto's plans to come looking for them, and had wasted no time in fleeing the scene.

For you see, they had a very good reason to be scared of the wolf-dog. So far, Balto had beaten Steele twice in a row and survived, right before their very eyes, which was something they had never seen before. After the serum run was over, they had hoped for possible reconciliation with the wolf-dog, and maybe even a chance to redeem themselves, but after he had ignored them the night before, they had began to wonder about the wolf-dog's intentions. What if now that their mission was over, and the children were safe, the hybrid was still hanging onto his grudge against them?

They knew that they had made every waking moment of Balto's life miserable - simply so Steele wouldn't make their lives miserable - and didn't deny that they deserved Balto's revenge on them. But they were worried that if Balto was ever to encounter Steele up close and personal, the hybrid would enter a uncontrollable rage and kill Steele, and kill them too if they got in his way. Or worse, Steele found them before Balto did, and killed them himself. With Balto, maybe there was a chance the could beg for mercy, but with Steele, he would simply slit their throats in cold blood as soon as he saw them.

"I was with Balto for most of this morning, and he didn't mention you guys once, how do you even know Balto wants to fight you?", Dixie argued, her eyebrows raised skeptically.

"That's just it, we don't know what this guy's capable of, you've seen his random mood swings!", Star replied.

Nikki and Kaltag nodded their heads in agreement.

Hearing Star's words, Dixie immediately remembered her encounter with Balto earlier that morning. She had entered Balto's home with Jenna and Sylvie, when he had jumped out at them, almost attacking them for no reason. Dixie had brushed it off as him simply trying to defend himself from Steele, but something inside her had noted that Balto's expression had seemed fierce. Just by that one haunting expression, Dixie knew that Balto hadn't had any intention of fighting Steele, but instead massacring him and anyone else who got in his way.

Dixie looked up from her thoughts, and the show dog's heart skipped a beat when saw Balto - standing only a few behind Nikki, Kaltag, and Star. They hadn't even seemed to noticed the wolf-dog's presence yet, and for a moment, she thought about warning them about the danger behind them. But then she noticed Balto was winking at her, with a playful expression on his face. Immediately, Dixie understood the husky's intentions, and Balto seemed calm enough, so she decided to go along with whatever he had in store for the dogs.

"Look you guys, I'm sure you'll be fine. I know for a fact that Jenna loves Balto to death, and the Jenna I know would never fall in love with a killer", Dixie reasoned.

"Yeah, I guess", Nikki mumbled, still not convinced.

Dixie eyes darted towards Balto, who was still standing behind the sled dogs, grinning. Dixie smiled for a moment, and realized that Balto wanted to speak to the dogs himself, alone. "Well, I'd better be getting back, the sun's gonna set soon, and my owner almost dies of fright whenever I'm out after dark", she said suddenly, hastily coming up with an excuse to leave.

"Well, I'll guess we see you at the Old Mill tonight Dix", Star said, grinning slightly.

"Of course, I wouldn't dream of missing, I heard that Jared and his all-dog band wrote two new songs today", Dixie replied, grinning back.

"Hey, before you leave. Are you going with Grace tonight?", Kaltag asked, curious.

"Nah, she hasn't been speaking to me lately, she thinks her boyfriend Blaze has been cheating on her with me, as if I would want to sleep with a jerk like him", Dixie replied, scoffing.

"So does that mean she's single?", Kaltag asked, his voice hopeful.

"You're not her type Kal, Grace has never been one for sled dogs", Dixie replied.

"Hey, you can't blame a guy for trying, right?", Kaltag joked lightly.

Dixie giggled, glad to see her friends in a better mood already. Dixie looked at the trio one last time, and then at the hybrid that was hidden in the shadows behind them, before she turned around, and walked off.

"I never knew you liked Grace", Nikki said, raising his eyebrows.

"Hey, I'll like anybody right about now. Have you ever noticed that we've been living in Nome for five years now, and we're all still single?", Kaltag replied.

Nikki and Star racked their brains for a moment, before nodding in agreement.

"Exactly, it's like we're cursed or something", Kaltag said, before leaning against the alley wall.

"Cursed to never have girlfriends?", Nikki added jokingly.

"Maybe we'd be better off if we just went out with guys. After all, men seem to be the only ones Star can actually talk to", Kaltag replied, chuckling.

Star was about to come up with an angrily reply, when he was cut off by the sound of somebody clearing their throat.

Nikki, Kaltag, and Star's hearts all stopped at the same time, and they turned around to see a familiar wolf-dog hybrid grinning at them from deeper in the alley.

"Um, hi guys, I think we need to talk", Balto said awkwardly.

Seeing the fearful wolf-dog again for the first time in more than twelve hours, Star yelped in fear, and quickly ran behind Kaltag, hoping to use his bigger, stronger teammate as a canine shield.

Kaltag frowned at the husky, before turning back to face Balto, who was now walking towards the terrified trio. "Talk about what?", he asked nervously.

"I'm not here to fight you, and I'm not here to kill you either, I'm here to make amends, if I can", Balto explained, before stopping short, only a few feet away from the dogs.

Hearing Balto's kind words, Star finally stopped shaking, stepped out from behind Kaltag's back, curious about the hybrid's intentions. "So you're not here to slit our throats?", he asked, though he felt a bit stupid as soon as the words had left his lips.

Balto chuckled darkly, and then shook his shaggy head. "No, not today anyway", Balto joked lightly, hoping to lighten the mood, before his tone became serious. "Remember when we were delivering the medicine, and I fell off that cliff?", he asked, grimacing as he remembered the horrifying memory.

"Yeah man, we thought you were dead for hours", Nikki replied, speaking again for the first time since he had acknowledged the wolf-dog's presence.

Balto took a deep breath before continuing, hoping he could find words adequate enough to explain his recent epiphany. "When I was down in that abyss, I thought about a lot things. About Jenna, about Rosie, but mostly I thought about life, and how short it is. And I realized that life is just too short to just waste it away by missing opportunities and holding onto petty grudges. In a way, I think I walked out of that cliff as a new man", Balto explained.

Balto cleared his throat again, and stared at Nikki, Kaltag, and Star for a moment. Being in the presence of what he had presumed to be his worst enemies for so long, everyone of Balto's instincts was telling him to just attack the dogs and kill them at that moment. And Balto had to admit, part of him was enticed by the idea of getting revenge on the three ex-bullies for ruining his life. A few weeks ago, he probably would have given into his instincts and purposely let his anger control him. But Balto was different man now, a better one, who knew that revenge was vicious cycle that went on forever, and that forgiveness was the only way he would ever truly end the feud between them.

"So, what do say? Can we bury the hatchet between us?", Balto finished, before raising up his paw as a friendly gesture.

Nikki, Kaltag, and Star simply stared at each other, not sure if the wolf-dog was being sincere, or if it was simply a trap to gain their trust. Balto's face seemed friendly enough, and there was a sort of trusting vibe rolling off his the hybrid.

Eventually, Kaltag decided to go first, just in case it was a trap. Reluctantly, Kaltag stepped forward, and extended his own paw, though Balto could see how the sled dog's paw was vibrating in fear. Balto tried to ignore Kaltag's blatant nervousness, and started to shake the tan husky's paw - a human sign of forgiveness.

During the pawshake, Kaltag finally made direct contact with Balto, looking for any sign of anger or aggression in the wolf-dog's yellow-brown eyes. However, Balto himself was much too deep in thought to even notice the husky's strange behavior. For Balto was currently experiencing something that he never thought would happen except in his dreams. He was finally having a calm and rational conversation with the dogs, and at the same time, was ending their five year feud.

After continually shaking each other's paws for what seemed like forever, both Balto and Kaltag stepped back, both of them feeling awkward. Balto nodded, and Nikki walked up, encouraged by Kaltag's own bravery. Balto shook paws with Nikki, the same as he did with Kaltag, and soon only Star was left. Star looked back at his friends, terrified of what would happen if he approached the wolf-dog alone. Nikki and Kaltag nodded their heads, encouraging their friend to take the metaphorical plunge.

Star gulped, and turned to glance at Balto again. His face still seemed friendly, and the wolf-dog was grinning now. "Go on", Balto said, his paw still outstretched.

After taking several deep breaths, Star slowly walked forward, placing one paw in front of the other. After stalling for as a long as he possibly could, Star finally found himself face the face with the wolf. Balto seemed to tower over the smaller dog, and Star knew that if a fight broke out, he wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance against the half-wolf. However, Star rationalized that if Balto had intentions of hurting him, he would have done it by now, and slowly extended his own paw. Star shuddered silently as he realized that Balto's paw was at least three times the size of his own.

As Balto and Star shook hands, Star looked up, into the hybrid's eyes. To his surprise, he could see only compassion and forgiveness beneath their supernaturally yellow tint, compared to Steele's constantly cold and soulless blue eyes.

After a few more seconds, Star stepped backwards, though he still didn't turn his back or take his eyes off Balto. But Balto could hear Star's heartbeat slow as he began to relax, knowing that the wolf-dog meant him no harm.

After a few more seconds of awkward silence, Kaltag spoke up, to everyone's relief. "Well, Um, Welcome to Nome, Balto", he said, glancing back at Nikki and Star. Kaltag's voice was still confused, but with a small hint of relief in it this time.

"Thanks", Balto said, smiling.

And without another word, Balto walked off. Now, the hybrid truly felt completely satisfied. The three dogs couldn't imagine how relieved Balto had felt that their little meeting had ended so peacefully.

Still, there was something unsettling about the atmosphere around Balto, something that was causing the fur on the back of his neck to stand up. Balto stopped for a moment, and looked in all directions. He didn't see any sign of danger, and Nikki, Kaltag, and Star were already gone. But something was deeply wrong, even though he couldn't see it, the wolf-dog could feel it in his bones. For a second, the wind had blown downwind, and he thought he had smelled the familiar scent of Steele. However, after seeing there was no there, Balto chose to ignore it, and walked off, wanting to find Jenna right away and make sure she was still safe.

High above him, a collarless dog watched him run back towards Rosie's house, from the rooftops of Nome. Steele growled in a primal fury. He had arrived back in Nome around the same time Balto and Jenna had, and had been watching the entire scene unfold, just as he had all morning. Before he made it back to Nome, Steele had ripped his collar off so the incident in the meadow wouldn't happen again, but the wolf-dog had still smelled him anyway.

"_First you steal my glory, then you steal all my friends, You will pay for this Bingo!_", Steele angrily thought.

Steele growled at the sickening sight below, and then dived off the rooftop, onto the next building. He had spent the last 24 hours hiding in abandoned buildings and rooftops, fearful of the canine lynch mob that was currently searching all of Nome for him. Now that Steele had been exposed as fraud, all the other dogs in town were enraged that he had endangered the lives of all their masters' children.

After Steele had had time to think about his failure, he came to the conclusion it was all Balto's fault that the serum run had gone so badly. If that wolf-dog had just stayed in his place, and let Steele find a way out the blizzard himself, then he would have eventually guided the team back home on his own, and the people of Nome would still love _him_ instead of that mongrel.

Steele also knew the half-wolf was now living inside of Rosie's house with Jenna, _his_ Jenna. The malamute knew what he had to do. Nikki, Kaltag, and Star would also have to pay for being unfaithful to him. He had only been gone for 24 hours, and they were already 'close friends' with the half-breed mutt. Bingo delivering the medicine had been crushing enough, but to add insult to injury, his so called '_friends_' had chosen Balto over him as soon as they thought he was out of the picture. "_Spineless sniveling traitors!_", he thought, snarling.

They deserved to die for their treachery, but Steele wasn't gonna do that, that would be _way_ too easy. Death would be saved only for Balto. Instead, Steele would beat the living _crap_ out of Nikki, Kaltag, and Star until they returned to his side, and by the time he was done with them, they would begging to help him put that wolf-dog back in his place. "_No defies Steele - no one!_", the malamute continued, licking his lips in anticipation.

And Jenna _would_ be his mate, even if he had to rape that pathetic little bitch. It was simply a matter of revenge for her constantly rejecting him, and choosing a filthy wolf over him. Steele felt he had put up with her silly wild antics with Balto long enough, and it was time for him to finally get what he had wanted for so long now - to mate with her. But he couldn't attack Balto and Jenna right now, he needed some time and to think of a plan. Until then, he would return to his home with his master Sam, hopefully undetected, and lay low for the next few days.

Suddenly, Steele's canine ears picked up the sound of someone talking below him. He peered over the edge of the roof, and noticed that Dixie and Sylvie were talking about something. Even though they had to be at least 20 to 30 feet below him, Steele's supersensitive ears picked up every word the show dogs were saying.

"I've been looking for you all morning Dix, did you hear the news? Gunnar Kaasen spoke to the mayor a few hours ago, and the whole town is holding this meeting tonight at 7:00 tonight ", Sylvie explained.

"Sounds interesting, what's it about?", Dixie asked, curious.

In response, Sylvie rolled her eyes, surprised at her best friend's naiveness. "Don't ya already know? What everyone has been talking about since last night", Sylvie said sarcastically.

Quickly realizing what the afghan hound meant, Steele grinned evilly and leapt onto another rooftop. He would know what all the humans were talking about soon enough.

**((()-()))**

On the other side of town, two other dogs were arguing about something too, except they were on a completely different topic. The familiar youthful husky, Blaze, was desperately trying to chase after his angry girlfriend, Grace. The female dog hadn't spoken to him or Dixie in weeks, not after she had began to suspect he was cheating on her with one her best friends. So far, this was the first time Blaze had even been able to even talk to her since last Tuesday.

"Did you here about the meeting tonight?", Blaze asked, struggling to keep up with his ticked-off girlfriend.

"Who hasn't?", Grace simply replied, trying her best not to look her ex-boyfriend in the eye.

"So, are you going tonight? Cause I would be glad to escort you. After all, all the weirdos start prowling the streets after sundown", Blaze offered, grinning.

"You would know all about that, wouldn't you? Look why don't you just ask Dixie, she's obviously your girlfriend now", Grace replied, scowling.

"Listen baby, I already told you, Dixie and me were just talking last week, there's nothing going on between us", Blaze insisted, deliberately placing himself in Grace's way.

"I know sex when I smell it, and reeked of semen that night!", Grace insisted, fighting back a growl.

Blaze softly grabbed Grace's face in his paws, and lifted it up so she was eye-to-eye with her ex. "Listen Grace, I promise you, I would never cheat on you, look into my eyes, and tell me that you don't trust this face", he insisted.

Grace sighed, and then stared into the husky's eyes like he had requested her to do. After a few moments, Grace stepped back. "Fine, you've got a second chance. But this is your last one. If I ever see you with another girl again, you can kiss my sweet tail good-bye", she said, frowning slightly.

"Oh thank you babe, you won't regret this!", Blaze said, hugging Grace tightly.

"_Hmm, we'll see_", Grace thought skeptically.

**((()-()))**

**_Nome, Alaska, 7:00 P.M. Monday, February 2, 1925:_**

Later that night, nearly every human in Nome, along with their faithful canine pets, were gathered inside the City Hall. Besides the mayor's office, the building also contained a large auditorium that was filled with rows of wooden chairs, strikingly similar to the way a church was traditionally designed. This room was where most of Nome's important town meetings were held. Two of the dozens of townspeople inside were Thomas and Evelyn Jones. The couple had reluctantly left their child's bedside for the night so they could attend the meeting, since Gunnar Kaasen himself had told them that it was important they come.

Barely visible within the sea of humans and pets, Balto and Jenna awkwardly sat next to their owner's legs, confused about what the meeting was even about. Dixie and Sylvie were sitting not far away from the couple, not wanting to let their canine friends out of their sights again. Balto and Jenna had seemingly disappeared from Nome for over seven hours that afternoon, and a lot people had wondered if Steele had found them. Before the meeting began, Dixie and Sylvie had questioned them about their disappearance, and all the canine couple told them was that they had spent the afternoon somewhere special. Dixie, however, was still persistent, and intended on getting more details from them after the meeting was over.

As Dixie was carefully planning her ambush, the crowd around her was practically buzzing with excitement, and Balto could hear most of the townspeople whispering to whoever was sitting next to them. Everyone knew for sure the meeting was Balto, and they also knew it was about relay, but what else was there to discuss? The serum run was over, wasn't it?

Sitting on the other side of the room, Nikki, Kaltag, and Star were waiting for the absent mayor to appear too, their expressions clearly troubled. The three dogs had been feeling incredibly conflicted between their loyalty to Steele, ever since Balto's sudden offer of friendship that afternoon. For most of their lives in Nome, Nikki, Kaltag, and Star had gladly held onto their prejudices against wolves, and even though they wanted to be Balto's friends, it went against their basic nature, along with everything their parents had taught them when they were pups.

On the eastern side of the room, Blaze and Grace were sitting next to the surly husky's teammates. Blaze and his pals knew that the meeting had to be about Balto, and shot dirty looks at the hybrid and his fiancée whenever they could. It was the first time Balto had dared to show his face in public again since the night before, and Blaze was furious that the half-wolf even had the nerve to come to this meeting, around _real_ dogs.

Despite Doc's warning to him earlier that morning, Blaze still felt like Balto didn't deserve to live in a town like Nome, and was fighting back to urge to just lunge at the wolf-dog every time he looked at him. Grace, however, didn't share her boyfriend's prejudice against wolves, and elbowed Blaze in the stomach whenever he would growl in Balto's direction. Blaze was already in hot water with Grace, she wasn't about to let him make a fool out of himself by starting some kind of street fight in front of all her friends.

However, everyone's worried thoughts were interrupted, when the familiar face of Daniel Sutherland finally walked into the center of the auditorium, and cleared his throat. Balto noticed that Sutherland looked just as confused as the rest of the crowd about Gunnar's purpose for calling this meeting, and realized that Kaasen had deliberately left Daniel 'out of the loop', per se. Still, Daniel spoke to the crowd, and tried to hide his confusion. But before he spoke, however, Daniel turned to glare at Balto, a look of absolute loathing on the man's face. Balto tried his best to ignore him, already wary of Sutherland's dislike of him. Daniel sighed, looked away from Balto, before speaking into his podium.

"As you are all aware by now, just 24 hours ago, Balto helped deliver the medicine safely to Nome, and has recently has been recently adopted by the Jones family", Daniel began, pointing towards Tom and Eve, who topped their hats in reply.

All the humans and dogs in the room immediately turned their heads, and stared right at Balto and Jenna. In response, the hybrid in question moved backwards, feeling really embarrassed by all the attention he was getting lately, and trying his best to blend into the crowd. Daniel however, grimaced by the townspeople's love for the wolf-dog, since he still didn't approve of Balto's new status in Nome.

Gunnar Kaasen stepped up, already knowing the next part of the mayor's speech. "As you are also aware, Mr. Edwards here, has requested that Steele be removed from the sled dog team, due to his failure of delivering the antitoxin", Gunnar began, continuing where Sutherland left off. Everyone in the room nodded their heads in agreement.

Standing out amongst the crowd of humans, Steele's owner, Samuel Edwards, sat on a nearby stool, grimacing at the memory. Ever since Balto had returned with the medicine the night before, the humans had noticed Steele wasn't among the other sled dogs. And after Steele still didn't return after 12 hours, the humans realized that there was only one logical explanation. Unaware of the malamute's true treachery, the humans had incorrectly rationalized what probably happened during the serum run. One popular theory was that Steele had realized that he had no chance of escaping the blizzard, and had simply abandoned his team. Samuel wasn't sure what really happened, and he didn't particularly care, because Steele had shamed his entire family.

The Edwards family had always been known for breeding powerful race dogs, but now Steele had made a mockery of his family name, and the entire town hated Samuel now for breeding a coward like Steele. One mother had told Sam that because of Steele, her son had almost died. One angry father had told Sam he shouldn't dare show his face in Nome ever again. Sam slowly picked up his third bottle of whiskey in that one hour, and drank deeply, hoping he could drown out his shame with liquor.

Meanwhile, Balto's newly enhanced ears were carefully listening to every word Daniel and Gunnar were saying. The wolf-dog didn't want to miss out on a single detail of what had been, so far, the greatest day of his canine life. Still, he was a little bit curious of Gunnar's intentions, and was trying to hide the relief he felt about Steele being removed from the team. Since he and Jenna had spent the entire afternoon in the forest, neither one of them had had any idea that the malamute's owner had asked for his immediate termination.

Sitting across from Balto and Jenna, Blaze's mouth hung open in shock. The husky couldn't believe that Steele was going to replaced. The champion sled dog had been Blaze's hero ever since he was just a young pup. Enraged, Blaze fought back the urge to growl, and glared in Balto's direction. However, the wolf-dog didn't even notice him, since Gunnar had began talking again.

"The point is, we're all gathered here tonight so we can choose Steele's replacement, we're one sled dog short and we need a lead dog, and I decided to let the town vote on who should replace him", Gunnar finished, grinning now.

Everyone in the room nodded their heads again, quickly understanding what the musher meant. Balto could tell that the man had something up his sleeve, and was clearly waiting for something to happen, something exciting.

To Balto and Jenna's surprise, Thomas stood up and raised his hand. "How about Balto? He is the one who rescued the team", the man suggested, speaking up for the first time since he and his wife had arrived at City Hall.

"**_I Am The Doctor_**" by Murray Gold begins.

At that exact same moment, Balto's heart skipped a beat, as the hybrid realized the ramifications of what Tom was suggesting.

"That was probably just a fluke", Daniel quickly argued, scowling.

As quickly as it had risen, Balto's heart sank, drowning in a river of disappointment. He had expected this, of course. That last night's endeavor had been a once in a lifetime thing. Balto could also tell that Sutherland, like most of the men in Alaska, had a clear prejudice against wolves. Balto remembered Daniel's look of disgust earlier, when the hybrid was being adopted, and the distaste in his voice when he had mentioned Balto's adoption. Balto fought back a growl, not wanting to push his new luck, or give the mayor any reason to revoke his adoption.

"Balto probably followed the team into the wilderness. They crashed in a snowdrift and their musher was knocked out, so the dogs probably followed whoever was conscious at the time, whether dog or wolf", Daniel reasoned, his voice confident.

As the seconds ticked by, Balto fought harder and harder to keep himself quiet, knowing that every word of the mayor's testimony was wrong. And deep down, Balto could tell that Daniel knew it was wrong too, but simply wanted an excuse to put the wolf-dog back in what he believed to be his place.

"Steele was probably unconscious too at the time, so Balto and the rest of the team probably deserted him", Daniel finished.

A few feet away, Blaze and his buddies were all grinning and snickering, obviously agreeing with the man's false theory. "_Yeah, you tell em'!_", Blaze whispered, relieved that someone else besides himself wasn't buying into the madness and giving that half-wolf any more satisfaction then he already had.

Balto repressed another growl, but this one was more like a snarl, and his eyes began to tint a bright red hue, just like they had that morning.

Jenna quickly turned to stare her fiancée, worried that the hybrid might lose control of his temper again.

"I hate this! Not being able to speak to the humans, not being able to tell them what really happened!", Balto muttered, his teeth clenched.

Jenna nodded her head in agreement, feeling the exact same pain that her boyfriend felt, but hiding it better.

Nervous, Dixie and Sylvie stared at Balto, wondering if the wolf-dog would attack the mayor at any second, in a blind rage.

Completely oblivious to Balto's fury, Gunnar began arguing with Daniel's claims. "But why would he save me?", he objected, scowling.

Sutherland immediately fell silent, obviously not having an answer to the angry musher's question. Finally, after thinking for a few more seconds, the man spoke up. "Sled dogs are specially trained to protect humans, they probably knew that it was their job to get you and the sled home safe", Daniel replied.

"Then that just proves that Balto really does care about human life!", Gunnar argued, angry and frustrated at the same time.

At that, Evelyn suddenly stood up, her face determined. "It's true, I may not know what goes on inside that dog's head, but if it wasn't for him, my little Rosie would be dead right now!", she agreed, angrily pointing her finger at Daniel, and then at the wolf-dog who resting next to her feet.

Eve immediately shuddered at the thought of her daughter's death, and Tom quickly walked over to her side, wrapping his arms around his wife to comfort her.

Thomas lifted up his head, and raised his voice so the whole room could hear him. "And I saw him play Rosie and my dog, Jenna, dozens of times, and he's never harmed either of them. I don't know why, and I don't know how, but Balto's different than other wolf-dogs!", he added, gladly taking his wife's side in the argument.

At that, whispers and mutters swept across the room like a tidal wave, every human and dog all arguing about which side to believe. While everyone else was trying to choose their loyalties, Balto's heart floated back to surface - suddenly, the wolf-dog had a chance again. He threw a quick grin at Jenna, and the husky grinned back, realizing that Gunnar was starting to win the argument.

Seeing that the crowd was begin to waver in the musher's favor, Daniel cleared his throat, causing silence to fall over the room again. "But what about when he growled at Mr. Condor here? He tried to bite his hand off!", Daniel reminded him, his voice both angry and desperate now.

Gunnar opened his mouth to come up with an angry reply, but then realized that he had none. Sutherland grinned triumphantly, as he realized that he had finally found his ace in a hole. And just as Gunnar had fallen silent, so had everyone in the auditorium - including Tom, Eve, Balto, and Jenna.

Sitting in the nearby corner, Blaze and his buddies were grinning with joy, while Grace held her breath, desperately waiting for someone else to come to the wolf-dog's defense. But after a few minutes, it seemed as if all hope was lost for Balto's cause.

Suddenly, a young boy stepped out of the crowd, who Balto quickly recognized as being the paper boy he had seen earlier that morning. "Sir, Balto never growled at you, I saw Steele step on his paw and make him growl in pain", the boy argued.

Everyone, human and dog, in the room gasped as they realized what the boy was implying. However, instead of being shocked like all the other townspeople, Daniel simply burst into laughter, as if the boy's words were some kind of joke.

"So, what are you trying to say boy? That Steele somehow sabotaged Balto?", Daniel inquired, obviously skeptical about the little boy's explanation.

The kid nodded his head, and Sutherland snorted in disbelief.

As the humans' theories got wilder and wilder, Balto's heart pounded on overdrive, just like it had the night before. "_This is it! They're so close to the truth! Please, please, please!_", he thought feverently, practically begging.

"I'm afraid he's not lying sir, I saw it too. I was with my son during the race, and I saw everything", one woman said, obviously the boy's mother.

Both Balto and Gunnar turned to glance at the woman, who had apologetic look on her face. "Why didn't you say something?", Gunnar asked, shocked.

"I didn't say anything before, because at the time, I felt that the safe delivery of the medicine should have been entrusted in the hands of a real sled dog, not some wild wolf. But now I realize I was wrong", the woman explained, her head hung down low, and her voice shameful.

"Even if something like that were possible, why would Steele do that?", Daniel asked, fighting back laughter again.

"It makes sense", Gunnar interjected, his tone thoughtful.

"What?", Daniel muttered, his voice deathly serious now.

Seeing the worry on the man's face, whispers scattered across the crowd again.

"In all my years as a musher, I've seen sled dogs get jealous of other sled dogs before. After all, Balto won the race, and Steele knew that meant Balto would take his place as leader of the team, so maybe he sabotaged him to keep his position. After all, dogs are a whole lot smarter than we humans give them credit for", Gunnar explained, his eyes focused fully on Balto now.

At that, Sutherland began to sputter frantically, practically scrambling for a suitable reply. "You people are all babbling nonsense! What about all those sausages he stole just a week ago?", he insisted, outraged.

Balto's pounding heart froze in it's tracks, as he realized his chances were dead again. The wolf-dog had almost forgotten how Steele had set him up the week before, framing him for the theft of several sausages he had stole from the butcher's shop.

"All dogs steal!", Gunnar argued, growing tired of the mayor's constant stalling.

But while Gunnar and Daniel where arguing, another man stepped out of the crowd, who Balto also recognized as the local butcher, James Avery - the very same man who had scolded Balto the week before, when he had found him covered from head to toe with stolen meat. "Besides I found this outside the butcher's shop", Avery added, before holding up a long, thin, piece of black and white fur.

"The day after the robbery, I found this piece of fur stuck on a branch near my shop's back door, whoever stole my sausages must have been in quite a hurry to get away, and left some of their fur stuck on a low-lying branch on the way out. I was meaning to tell somebody about what I had found, but I've been distracted all week with the epidemic and the serum run, so I've storing this away in my cabinet ever since last Friday", Avery explained, holding up the tiny piece of fur for the whole crowd to see.

Avery then turned around to face Sutherland, and held the sliver of fur only a few inches from the man's face. "Now, remind me again what color is Balto's fur?", James asked, his voice slow and impatient.

All eyes (human and dogs) zoomed in on the piece of fur, and then darted back towards Balto. The fur was bright shade of black and white, the exact same color and texture of Steele's fur.

Daniel looked at the fur, and then at the wolf-dog who was sitting in the corner. At first, it seemed like Daniel wasn't even going to answer James' question, he looked so furious, but eventually the angry mayor managed to force out an answer. "Brown", he snarled.

"And remind me this also, who was it that bravely led us to the stolen sausages last week?", James added, frowning.

"Steele did", Daniel replied again, his voice hard and cold.

"Now, isn't it convenient that Steele would know exactly where to find Balto and the missing sausages?", Daniel asked, speaking to the whole crowd this time.

Murmurs spread across the crowd again, and Sutherland angrily frowned at the man. "What are you trying to say?", Daniel scowled, already knowing the answer.

"I'm saying that Steele did this, he did all of it", James replied, who was just as angry as Daniel was at that moment.

At that, Balto's heart suddenly restarted, pounding faster and harder than it ever had before. And standing only a few feet away from him, the hybrid could hear Jenna's heart doing the same, as they were both hanging onto the man's words intensively. For the first time ever, Steele was about to be exposed as the liar and the bully that he was, and he was not only about to be exposed to the dogs, but to the humans too, at last.

"He led us to Balto, not because he was trying to do a right thing and please his masters, but because he was just trying to save his own hide. He tricked us and set Balto up to take the blame, and if Gunnar's right about Steele's jealousy, then he's been behind everything that's been happening in Nome all along!", James explained, finally uncovering the truth.

At that crucial moment, it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off Balto's shoulders. It was almost if the wolf-dog had been carrying the weight of the world for so long, and now that everyone knew he was innocent of any wrongdoing, the hybrid had been relieved of his burden.

Across the room from him, Blaze and his gang were growling and snarling in fury, while Grace was trying her best to keep them under control. However, Balto completely ignored them, and turned to grin triumphantly at Jenna, who proudly returned the gesture.

Feeling the heat from the crowd, Daniel cleared his throat, knowing that his only point against Balto was now moot. Daniel stuttered, trying to think a reason - any reason - not to include Balto on the team, but he couldn't think of any. He was boxed into a corner. It went everything his father had taught him as a kid to allow a filthy disease-ridden wolf live in his town, and to let that mongrel lead a sled dog team. To let some rabid mutt be in charge of carrying the town's precious food and supplies. But if he didn't, the townsfolk might turn against him, and impeach him - or maybe even worse. Knowing that there was no other way out, Sutherland threw one last infuriating glare at Balto for putting him in such a situation.

Everyone in the room stared at the man, waiting for their mayor's final, deciding words. "Well then, I guess that this changes everything. It seems as if I was _wrong_", he finally admitted, spitting the words out through clenched teeth.

After a few more seconds of silence, the entire room erupted in a wave of cheers and applause, all of them directed towards Balto and Gunnar, along with the heroes of Sled Dog team 51. All except for a few stubborn men and woman who remained silent, and were still scowling and grimacing at Balto - including the mayor himself.

After holding his breath for at least five minutes, Balto's breathing finally returned - just in time for Jenna to hug him insanely tight, and knock the wind out of the wolf-dog.

Eventually, Jenna did release Balto, as Sutherland started to speak again. "Gunnar, if you would please do the _honor_", Daniel requested, still fighting back his anger.

Gunnar nodded his head in reply, and pulled a thick leather collar out of his coat pocket. "On behalf of Sled Dog Troop 51, we'd like to add Balto to the team, to take Steele's place as lead dog", he proudly proclaimed.

"With your permission Mr. Jones?", Gunnar asked, glancing at Tom.

"We would be honored", Tom replied, grinning.

Gunnar reached out and gave the lead collar to Tom, who then gave it to his happy wife. Evelyn bent over, and gently placed the collar around Balto's neck. After making sure the collar was wrapped tightly around the wolf-dog's neck, she got down her knees so she was face to face with the hybrid. "Welcome to Nome boy", she whispered.

In response, Balto softly licked her hand, since he couldn't thank the woman verbally.

Gunnar smiled at the tender sight, patted Balto on the head, and then spoke to the crowd. "Good luck boy. You'll need it, cause tomorrow morning, he starts team practice", he announced.

The never-ending booming noise of the crowd's cheering would have normally hurt Balto's supersensitive ears, but the wolf-dog was so happy that night that he completely ignored it. Jenna laughed with joy and wrapped herself around Balto even tighter. The hybrid himself was speechless, and only laughed alongside Jenna. And with that, Balto's brand new life in Nome began.

Sitting in a nearby corner, Sam continued to drink even heavier. The man was on the verge of passing out, but he didn't care anymore. The blissful taste of whiskey made it easier to deal with his shame and humiliation. During the meeting, he had decided something. Steele was no longer welcome in _his_ home, around _his_ children. As of now, Steele was dead to him.

**((()-()))**

Outside the building, Steele snarled in a primal fury. The malamute had been listening to the whole meeting from behind the City Hall's concrete walls. Now it was official, Bingo would _pay_. Balto had not only stolen his girlfriend and all his friends, but now he had the nerve the steal his job. That mutt would pay through his snout by the time Steele was done with him, it was only a matter of how. Steele mentally scratched his old plan of simply attacking Nikki, Kaltag, and Star. He needed his old teammates now more than ever, since they played a major part in his new plan. Before the week was over, Bingo would pay with his life.


	7. Chapter 7: The Engagement

**_Chapter Seven:_**

**_The Engagement_**

**_Nome, Alaska, 9:00 P.M. Monday, February 2, 1925:_**

Later that night, all the dogs in Nome were all gathered inside the Old Mill, celebrating the success of the serum run, along with the safety of their owners' children. But mostly, they were celebrating the courageous wolf-dog who had helped to make the serum run a success.

But as the party raged on, they were all silently wondering where the dog of the hour was, or if he was even coming at all. After more than two hours, Balto and Jenna were still nowhere to be seen, the elusive couple had mysteriously vanished again ever since the groundbreaking meeting.

"Where are they?", Dixie complained impatiently.

"They might not even come Dix, some of the dogs in here are not really their biggest fans you know", Sylvie reminded her, before beckoning to a nearby corner.

Sitting in the corner that Sylvie was pointing at, Blaze and his team were also waiting impatiently, gnawing on a large pile of bones that they had 'found' inside the butcher's shop. Blaze had been waiting all night for the wolf-dog to show up so he could give the hybrid a piece of his mind, but so far, the half-wolf didn't seem to have the guts to show his face around town again since the meeting, because he knew that real dogs like Blaze were waiting to string him up.

Blaze had been outraged when he learned that Balto was not only a legal citizen of Nome now, but also taking Steele's place on the sled dog team. The ex-sled dog had been one of Blaze's oldest friends, they often spoke of their shared hatred for the wolf-dog, and they both dreamed of a day when they could run him away from town forever.

After learning of Steele's replacement, Blaze and a bunch of his pals had decided to ignore Doc's warning, and beat the wolf-dog to a pulp the next time they saw him. They wouldn't run him out of town though, they wanted to keep the half-wolf around for a little bit longer, so they could torture him some more later. For now they would just be teaching the freak a valuable lesson about humility, and about knowing his place in the world.

"_Hmmm_", Blaze chuckled softly. "_Still no sign of the mongrel, Ha! He's nothing but a coward, through and through_", he thought smugly, before gulping down a large bone in a single bite, a handy little trick that he had learned from Steele.

As Blaze thoroughly enjoyed Balto's apparent cowardice, a large gray Newfoundland stepped to the center of the crowd, along with a few of his friends, who were carrying several musical instruments. As his friends began to set up their instruments, Jared began to speak to the crowd, seizing the attention of Dixie, Sylvie, and Blaze.

"Hello everyone, as most of you probably know, I'm Jared, and these guys are my bandmates, Rocky, Jim, and Mac, and we're here to sing a song for you", Jared explained, picking up a guitar and placing it around his neck.

As his band began to warm up, Jared continued. "I hereby dedicate this song to a courageous dog, who for some reason is not here tonight, but I hope can he hear this next number, it's a song I wrote today called, '**_Save Me_**'", Jared explained, before his band started playing.

"**_Save Me_**", by Remy Zero begins.

As Rocky began to play a drum beat, and Jim and Mac strummed their guitars, Jared started to vocalize, his voice echoing over the entire Old Mill, and even some of the streets outside as well.

"**_I feel my wings have broken in your hands, I feel your words unspoken inside, And they pull me under, and I would give you anything you want, you know, well all I wanted!_**", Jared began, strumming his own guitar.

"This song is not that bad actually", Dixie whispered, giggling. Sylvie nodded her head in response, while Blaze simply yawned behind her, bored already.

"**_All my dreams have fallen down!_**", Jared sung, the song growing in tempo. "**_Fallen down!_**", Jim and Mac sang. "**_Crawling around!_**", Jared sang, holding the last note.

As the dogs began to dance to the music, the song suddenly exploded into a heavy metal beat. "**_Somebody save me! Let you warm hands break right through, Somebody save me!_**", Jared sang, yelling at the top of his lungs.

As most of the dogs in the Old Mill started shaking their heads, Dixie and Sylvie started screaming at the top of their lungs. "Aren't musicians just so dreamy?", Dixie shouted, banging her head to beat.

Behind them, Blaze scoffed, annoyed that Balto had a song dedicated to him already.

"**_I don't care how you do it, just stay, stay. Come on, I've been waiting for you!_**", Jared sang, ending the chorus. As the band began to strum their guitars lightly, coming down from the musical explosion, Jared moved on to the next verse.

"**_I see the world has folded in your heart, I feel the waves crash down inside, and they pull me under, I would give you anything you want, well all I wanted!_**", Jared continued.

**((()-()))**

Completely oblivious to the intense musical number that was going on inside the Old Mill, Balto and Jenna walked down the snowy streets of Nome, passing by numerous other dogs along the way. Balto watched the dogs passed him by, they weren't speaking to him, but they weren't taunting him either, as the hybrid had expected them to. "_This new lifestyle's gonna take some getting used to_",Balto thought, feeling euphoric.

After the town meeting was over, Balto and Jenna had stopped by the old trawler, and filled Boris in about the good news, though they still hadn't told them about their unofficial engagement. They didn't want to get the goose's hopes up until their partnership became legal.

After several more arguments with Jenna, Balto had finally caved in and agreed to meet with Doc at the Old Mill. Almost every town in Alaska had a canine population, some towns even had more dogs living in them than humans. It was just part of Alaska's culture. Over time, these groups of dogs became known as packs. And the laws of nature stated that every pack had to have an alpha. As Balto had explained to Jenna earlier, Nome's alpha dog was a Saint Bernard named Doc. The alpha alone had the power to wed other canine couples, and allow them to have children - which was entirely different from wolf society, where only the alpha male and alpha female could mate and have children. Doc was not just the town alpha, but also the dog who belonged to Nome's local judge, the honorable Richard Adler.

Balto and Jenna had both agreeded that they wouldn't care what anyone else thought about their relationship, so long as Doc agreed with them. But that promise had seemed easier to make that afternoon, when it was just the two of them lying in the meadow. Balto couldn't help but worry about how the other dogs would react. Would the other dogs in town agree too? Or would they try to defend Jenna's honor by attacking the wolf-dog? Most importantly, would Doc agree to wed them?

Finally, Balto and Jenna arrived at the familiar doors to the Old Mill. Balto had seen the exterior of the building hundreds of times, and would sometimes catch glimpses of the interior through the Old Mill's windows. But this was the first time the hybrid had ever been inside the Old Mill, around other dogs.

"How do you feel?", Jenna asked.

"Nervous, worried, anticipant", Balto replied, listing the wide array of emotions the wolf-dog was feeling at that moment.

Balto took a deep breath to prepare himself, and lifted up one of his large paws. Balto slowly pushed inward on one of the doors, and it swung open, revealing the bright interior of the Old Mill. Light from one of the nearby furnaces poured through the open door, illuminating most of the street. After another few awkward seconds, Balto and Jenna stepped inside, walking into the unknown.

While Jenna was perfectly calm and relaxed, Balto moved slowly, paying close attention to his surroundings. Balto knew that the doors to the Old Mill made a loud creaking noise whenever they opened, and it should have immediately alerted the other dogs to his presence, unless something even louder had managed to block out the noise. He quickly realized that a band was playing, but didn't recognize the song. The half-wolf had never heard it before, unaware that it had just been written that morning as a dedication song to him. "**_All my dreams have fallen down, falling down, crawling around!_**", Jared and his band continued, still unaware of the wolf-dog's arrival.

Balto looked around the Old Mill and recognized some of the dogs in the room. Dixie and Sylvie had their backs turned to them, watching the band, so they still hadn't seen them yet. Balto also noticed Nikki, Kaltag, and Star were in the room too, sitting not too far away Dixie and Sylvie.

After a few more minutes, Balto was feeling a little more confident, but still hadn't let his guard down yet. As the couple continued walk further inside, Balto slowly placed one paw in front of the other, constantly fighting back the instinct to turn and run the other way. For the longest time, the Old Mill had been forbidden to him, and for most his life, Balto had seen it as place he was never allowed to enter. But today, he broken down nearly all of the barriers that had held him back before, so the hybrid he might as well push his luck as far as it could go.

"**_Somebody save me! Let you warm hands break right through, Somebody save me! I don't care how you do it, just stay, stay. Come on, I've been waiting for you!_**", Jared sang, entering the second chorus.

As Jared's band entered the bridge section, the Newfoundland looked out among the crowd, and spotted a familiar brown wolf-dog. Jared quickly realized that everyone else in the crowd still hadn't noticed Balto yet, and threw down his guitar.

Confused as to why their lead singer stopped playing, Rocky, Mac, and Jimmy stared at the Newfoundland as he started screaming into his mic.

"Hey everyone, Balto's here!", Jared shouted.

In a split second, Balto watched as every single dog in the Old Mill turned their head around at exactly the same time, staring right at him. For a few seconds, the room was deathly silently, filled with nothing but shock and disbelief. And then, the room exploded with ear-shattering noise. Balto cringed as all the screams and shouts of over two dozen dogs crashed within his super sensitive ears.

As the dogs began to approach Balto, practically smothering him with thanks and compliments, Blaze stood up, grinning evilly.

"_Come on boys_", he whispered.

But as Blaze and his thugs started walking towards Balto, readying themselves to attack the wolf-dog in public, their leader noticed something that stopped his heart. Doc was quickly making his way through the crowd, the old geezer was unwittingly preventing them from getting to Balto.

Blaze fought back a snarl, and turned towards his gang.

"_Come on_", he muttered, before walking towards the door.

While shoving their way through the crowd, Blaze brushed up against Dixie, who had been trying to reach her friends.

"Hey, watch it you dumb jock", Dixie snapped.

However, the husky just growled at her, and kept on walking, towards the exit.

As Blaze and his gang left through the very same doors that Balto and Jenna had just entered through, Doc finally reached the couple in question.

For a quite a few moments, Balto held his breath, not knowing what Doc was going to do - thank him, or run him out of his town.

"Hello Balto, I'm Doc, Judge Alder's pet", the Saint Bernard explained, greeting the couple warmly before outstretching out his paw.

Realizing that the friendly old dog meant him no harm, Balto breathed a sigh of relief, and then extended his own paw. Balto stared at Doc's paws and realized that they were surprisingly bigger than his own. It felt kind of good to shake hands with someone who had paws bigger than his own for once. He had felt something similar to this before, back when he was a pup, but he just couldn't remember who it was. It was like a huge barrier was in directly front of his earliest memories, preventing him from ever remembering his mother or his father, or anyone else in his family. Balto figured that it had to be another wolf he had shook paws with then, no other dog besides Doc could have possibly had paws the size of Balto's.

"It's nice to meet you Doc", Balto said, relieved. Now that he was close to Doc, Balto could observe the details of the dog's face. The dog was old, he looked to be around 10 years old (70 in dogs years). Balto had seen him from a distance several times before when he was an outcast, mostly yelling at Steele and his cronies for their attacks on other dogs. Balto could briefly remember Doc arguing Steele about putting a rival husky in the hospital a year before. Balto knew that Steele had always wanted Doc position as the boss of Nome.

The thought of Steele made Balto glance over his shoulders, remembering all the odd feelings he had felt all the day, first in the meadow, and then in the town.

"You don't have to be so nervous, you're among friends here", Doc insisted, beckoning to the 24 dogs that were closely listening into their conversation.

Despite Doc's reassuring words, Balto decided to smell the room anyway as a precaution. To his relief, there was no sign of Steele, so the hybrid exhaled, and decided to drop his guard.

"I just wanted to say thank you for your kindness Balto, on behalf of the town, and for my for own personal reasons too", Doc explained.

Balto raised his eyebrows in confusion, and Doc proceeded with his explanation.

"My master's niece was one of the children who were sick with Diphtheria, if you hadn't helped deliver the medicine last night she would have certainly perished", Doc explained, his voice sorrow.

"You're welcome Doc, I'm sure anybody would have done the same", Balto replied.

"No, they wouldn't", Doc said, shaking his head.

Balto raised his eyebrows again, and this time, Jenna's did the same.

"It takes a lot courage to stand up for what you know is right, especially in this town, where you can be judged for what you are, and not who you are", Doc explained, his voice reluctant.

Balto realized that the old dog was talking as if he knew this from experience, and guessed that Doc had something else on his mind, like a secret that needed to be told.

"Can we speak outside, in private?", Doc asked, whispering.

Balto and Jenna nodded, and reluctantly followed Doc outside the Old Mill.

Seeing that Balto and Jenna, plus Doc, were leaving through the front doors, Dixie and Sylvie strained their heads to see over the crowd.

"Where are they going?", Dixie mused, curious.

Wanting to know more, Dixie and Sylvie decided to follow them.

Noticing that the girls were leaving too, Nikki, Kaltag, and Star decided to follow them too. The trio had been thinking about a lot of things since the town meeting, and they felt like there was something they needed to tell Balto the next time they saw him. The three sled dogs quickly caught up with Dixie and Sylvie outside, and hid behind a nearby barrel, where Balto, Jenna, and Doc were in plain view.

Unaware that they were being watched by a least five other dogs, Doc continued their conversation. "My mother was a Saint Bernard, a specially trained rescue dog who used to help frontier men rescue other lost or injured humans in the wild. One day, she ran away, and spent a few nights in the wild, living with a wolf pack. And while she was there, she fell in love with one of the pack betas", Doc explained, obviously reluctant on letting anyone know the truth about his family history.

Balto and Jenna's mouths dropped open in shock, as they realized where Doc's story was going.

"After my mother became pregnant with one of the beta's pups, she was quickly banished from the pack and returned to Nome, because it is considered treason to for a beta to mate with female, since only the pack alpha to have children", Doc continued.

"My mother may have been a purebred dog, but my father was a wild wolf, which makes me a half-wolf like you Balto. It's a secret my family has been hiding for years, because of bigoted dogs like Steele", Doc finished, feeling like an enormous weight had just been lifted off his shoulders.

After taking a few moments to comprehend what he had just learned, Balto awkwardly cleared his throat, and Jenna spoke up.

"He wouldn't have killed an old man, would he?", Jenna asked, still stunned.

"Of course he would have. If he had found out Nome's alpha was half-wolf, he would have no doubt used it as excuse to take my position. Because of you two, Nome is peaceful place again, and for that I am forever grateful", Doc said.

"Wow, and I always thought I was the only one", Balto whispered, his voice trailing off.

"Not at all. Hundreds of dogs are half-wolf. Some, like me, just don't look it, and that's what allows them to masquerade as being normal. It allows them to have at least an average life", Doc replied, his voice heavy.

"Believe me Balto when I say that it pained me to have just stand by and let a fellow hybrid suffer for years, but I was so afraid that if I stood up for you, that someone would find out my own secret", Doc apologized, feeling immensely guilty.

"I understand Doc, there wasn't anything you could do", Balto said.

"There was, you've proved to me that there is always a choice, when you brought home the team. You taught me that you can either stand by and watch while others suffer, or you can take a stand and get involved", Doc replied.

"He's right Balto, there's always a choice", a voice said from the darkness.

Balto, Jenna, and Doc turned around, to see Nikki, Kaltag, and Star step out from behind the barrel, with Dixie and Sylvie not far behind them.

Balto quickly realized that the dog who had spoken was Kaltag, and that he had been listening in to their entire conversation.

"For years, I stood by and watched Steele pick on you, sometimes I even joined in with him", Kaltag said, obviously ashamed of what he had done.

"And so did I", Star added.

"Yeah, and me too", Nikki said.

"Balto, you shouldn't have been the one who came to us this afternoon, if anyone, we should be apologizing to you", Kaltag said, hanging his head down.

"Guys, I've already told you, it's all behind me now", Balto insisted.

"Well, it's not behind me. This whole incident with Steele just proves what I should have seen a long time ago. You weren't the only who had an epiphany during the serum run Balto. When Steele was gonna let us die us in that blizzard, I realized that it doesn't matter what you are, just what kind of person you are", Kaltag explained.

"Balto, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, and I know I don't deserve it, but, can you forgive me?", Kaltag asked, his voice hopeful.

"And me?", Nikki asked.

"And me?", Star added.

Balto paused for a moment, and then glanced at Jenna and Doc, before eventually nodding his head.

"Thank you", Kaltag said quietly.

The tan husky felt kind of embarrassed. When he was a part of Steele's gang, he wasn't used to expressing his feelings, since he didn't do much thinking for himself, so being so emotional all the time was still new to him.

Balto walked over to Kaltag's side, and patted the husky on the back, and then did the same for Nikki and Star.

All ten dogs quietly stood outside, neither one of them wanting to be the one to break the awkward silence, until Doc finally cleared his throat. "Well, I guess I'd better be getting back inside", Doc decided, before walking towards the doors.

"Doc, wait!", Balto shouted, causing the old dog to pause, and confusedly turn around.

"While you're here, there's something else we need to discuss", Balto explained.

Curious, Doc walked back to Balto and Jenna's side, while Dixie and Sylvie listened closely. "Remember last night, how Jenna and I weren't present at the party?", Balto asked, and Doc nodded his head in reply.

"Well, Jen and I have been talking, and we'd like to get married, if we could", Balto requested, feeling kind of weird as the words squeezed out of his mouth.

But before Doc could respond, Dixie and Sylvie started screaming, blowing everyone's ears out. When they were finished, the two show dogs quickly ran over to Jenna's side.

"Jen, is it true?", Dixie squealed, practically bursting with excitement.

Instead of speaking, Jenna simply nodded her head, since her ears were still ringing.

"Why didn't you tell us you were engaged?", Sylvie shouted.

"Well, I didn't want to get your hopes up until we asked Doc", Jenna replied, rubbing her eyes.

Despite her reply, Dixie and Sylvie bombarded Jenna with an armada of questions about how close she was to Balto, how Balto had proposed, and which one of them would be Jenna's maid of honor.

"Now do you see what I have to put up with everyday?", Jenna whispered.

Balto chuckled, and then nodded his head.

Dixie and Sylvie were certainly an unusual pair, but they had proved themselves time and time again to be true friends, who remained loyal to their pals until the end. They had been the first dogs in Nome to understand Jenna's relationship with Balto, and the hybrid had already taken a liking to the show dogs - as friends of course.

Balto tried his best to ignore the hyperactive show dogs, and turned back towards Doc. "Is that okay? Can a wolf-dog and a purebred get married?", Balto asked, knowing that everything from that moment on depended on the old dog's response.

"I don't see why not", Doc shrugged, not realizing the enormity of his words.

Balto grinned, and then shook Doc's paw. "Thank you! Thank you!", he said, feeling just as hyper as Dixie and Sylvie. Once Balto was finished, he turned and hug Jenna as tightly as he could.

Feeling a little bit shook up, Doc cleared his throat again, and turned towards the door of the Old Mill. "We'll meet up tomorrow morning to discuss the details of the wedding. I assume you want to keep this a secret up until the actual date?", Doc asked.

"Yes, the less people who know, the better", Jenna replied, before glaring at Dixie and Sylvie.

"What? What are you looking at us for?", Dixie asked, feigning innocence.

"I don't want you telling everyone you see about this Dixie", Jenna frowned.

"Jenna's right, this is just gonna be a small wedding made up of close friends and family", Balto added.

"Fine, we'll try to keep it small", Dixie sighed.

Doc grinned one last time, and opened one of the doors. "Good luck with you new life Balto, you're gonna need it", Doc joked, before walking back inside.

Kaltag chuckled, and pat Balto on the back.

"Congratulations pal", Kaltag said, grinning cheerfully.

"_Pal?_", Balto thought.

Balto once again thought of his words to Jenna in the meadow, about how quickly everything was changing. Apparently, Kaltag was his best friend now. Still, Balto didn't argue with the husky, since he was in a such good mood that night.

Thinking of the meadow, Balto also remembered something they had discussed that afternoon. The wolf-dog had been holding back and playing it safe all day, and now he felt it was finally time to let loose and have some fun.

"Come on Jen, there's something else I've got to do before the night is over", Balto said, smiling. Balto pushed open one of Old Mill's doors, and let Jenna, Dixie, and Sylvie go before him, before he walked inside.

The hybrid soon found who he was looking for, Jared and his all-dog band. "Hey, your name's Jared, right?", Balto inquired, walking up to the dog.

"Yep, that's my name, don't wear it out", Jared replied, chuckling.

Balto had noticed the Newfoundland before, but never talked to him to before. He was a well-built dog, not nearly as old as Doc, but at last one year older than him - the same age as Steele. The dog spoke with a thick Northern Canadian accent, as Canada was the canine immigrant's native country.

"I'd like to sing a song, do you know guys any duets?", Balto asked.

Jenna's mouth fell in shock, as she realized what her fiancée was about to do.

"We're gonna perform next, I was planning on singing it with Rocky, but I guess you can take his place, is that alright Rocky?", Jared asked.

"It's okay with me", Rocky shrugged.

Balto smiled, and then ran towards the center of the room, where Jared was setting up a second microphone. While Jared's band was warming up again, Jared whispered the lyrics to their song into Balto's ears. When he was done filling Balto in, Jared started speaking to the crowd.

"Okay, we're gonna need some female vocalists too, are there any ladies in the crowd tonight?", Jared asked, scanning the crowd for any familiar faces.

Immediately, Dixie, Sylvie, and Jenna stepped forward, eager to play with Jared's band.

Jenna quickly took her position next to Balto, and Jared's band began to play.

"Hit it guys!", Jared shouted.

An upbeat country/rock son quickly began, filling the Old Mill with joyful celebration.

"**_Only in America_**" by Brooks and Dunn begins.

As Rocky beats the drums, and Jim and Mac strummed their guitars, and Jared used his mike to begin a pre-song speech. "This next song is not just dedicated to Balto, our hero, but it also represents a land that we Alaskans hope to be a part of someday. A land where all your dreams can come true with a little sweat and a lot of determination, a land that we call… America!", Jared shouted, as he started to strum his guitar.

"**_Sun coming up, over New York City, school bus driver, in a traffic jam. Staring at the faces in her rearview mirror, looking at the promise, of the promised land!_**", Jared began. "**_One kid dreams of fame and fortune, one kid helps pay her rent, one could end up going to prison! But one just might be president!_**", Jared continued, his voice rising.

As the music builds, the crowd joined in on Jared's song, already knowing it by heart. "**_Only in America! Dreaming in Red, White, and Blue! Only in America! Where we dream as big as we want to!_**", Jared sang, as Balto joined in, the entire Old Mill broke into song and dance. "**_Ooohhh_**", Dixie, Sylvie, and Jenna vocalized.

"**_We all get a chance! Everybody gets to dance! Only in America!_**", Jared and Balto sang, holding the last note, before moving onto the next verse. "**_Sun going down, on an L.A. freeway, newlyweds in the back of a limousine, welder's son, and a banker's daughter, all they want, is everything!_**", Jared continued. "**_Everything_**", Balto and Jenna harmonized.

As if encouraged by Balto and Jenna's bravery to sing in public, Nikki, Kaltag, and Star walked onstage too, and donned their own instruments, joining in with Jared's band.

"**_She came out here to be an actress, he was a singer in a band, they just might go back to Oklahoma, and talk about the stars they could have been!_**", Jared sang, entering the second chorus. **_Only in America! Dreaming in Red, White, and Blue! Only in America! Where we dream as big as we want to!_**", Jared and Balto sang. "**_Ooohhh_**", Dixie, Sylvie, and Jenna sung soulfully. "**_We all get a chance! Everybody gets to dance! Only in America!_**", Jared and Balto continued.

Kaltag played a loud guitar riff, and the band entered the bridge section of the song.

**((()-()))**

Watching from a nearby window, unseen by all, a disgusted malamute growled, enraged. The disgruntled dog had been watching them the entire time, keeping a close eye on Balto and Jenna, but now he had seen enough.

Steele turned away from the window, and leapt off the stack of crates he had been standing on. He had been thoroughly disgusted about how quickly the dogs accepted the wolf-dog, and his heart tore in half when he learned that Doc was allowing Balto and Jenna's marriage. He had been placing on all hopes that the old fool would be smart enough to prevent their marriage. When he killed Balto and took Jenna as his own, he would make sure to kill Doc as a bonus prize. The old coot had gotten in his way for years, always stopping him from finishing off rival dogs, keeping him from Jenna, and preventing him from running Balto out of town years ago.

Steele knew he couldn't watch Balto and Jenna anymore today. If he went back there now, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself from crashing through the doors, and attacking the wolf that stole his life. When he set his place in motion, the final battle would have to happen in private, without any other dogs trying to intervene, or save his mongrel opponent.

Steele knew there was only one place in town left that he could go, his only safe sanctuary in a town that once worshipped the very ground that he walked on.

As he fought to control his burning anger, Steele ran towards a familiar wood home in the middle of town - the home of Samuel Edwards and his two young boys. Steele stooped his head, and crawled through the dog door of his home. However, after entering, Steele was surprised to find that his master was sitting at the kitchen table. Steele could smell the scent of whiskey in the air, and immediately knew that his master was drunk. Steele knew that humans were often at their most dangerous after they've been drinking, but he was still so mad at Balto, he didn't care what Sam did to him.

"Well, the traitor finally surfaces at last", Sam slurred, standing up from his chair.

Steele simply growled at the man, the surly malamute was not in the mood to deal with Sam right now.

"How surprised I was to find that, when the sled dog team rode into Nome last night, it was missing it's leader, and instead, I find you hiding in the basement", Sam continued.

Steele growled again, already knowing that every word of Sam's words were true. Suddenly, Steele's eardrums were shattered when the man suddenly started screaming at the top of his lungs.

"YOU COWARD! YOU ABANDONED THE TEAM, DIDN'T YOU?", the man bellowed.

Steele flinched, terrified by his master's outburst, and cautiously stepped back.

"IF BALTO HADN'T CAME ALONG, ALL THOSE CHILDREN WOULD HAVE DIED! INCLUDING MY SONS!", Samuel screamed, venting his rage on the once fearful malamute.

Because of the constant drinking he had done all night, the once kind and gentle Samuel had lost all sense of compassion, and wanted to strangle Steele with his bare hands. But instead of doing that, Sam picked up his bottle of whiskey, and threw it Steele's head as hard as he could.

Steele barely dodged the bottle, and snarled in return. The malamute's fight of flight instinct quickly kicked in, riding his adrenaline rush. He knew that if he attacked Sam head on like he would do with any other dog, he would only manage to get in a few bites before the drunken man killed him with shotgun that Steele just noticed was lying on the table.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! AND DON'T EVER COME BACK!", Samuel howled.

Knowing that his only chance of sanctuary was gone, Steele bolted out the dog door, fearing for his life.

Sam immediately grabbed his gun, threw the front door open, and started shooting after Steele with his loaded riffle. The terrified malamute just barely managed to dodge everyone of Sam's bullets, and escaped into the night. Sam growled, his heart beating a mile a minute, and stepped back inside his house.

Hearing all the ear-shattering noise, his two sons walked downstairs. Instead of letting his children recover in the hospital a little bit longer like most of the other parents had, Samuel had forced Dr. Welch to let him take his children home early and let them recover in their beds.

"Dad, what's all that noise? Where's Steele?", his youngest son, Billy, asked.

"Steele's gone son, and he's never coming back", Samuel slurred, fighting to control his anger.

Tears flowed down the children's eyes, the two boys had loved Steele as their dog - their very own champion sled dog.

"What do you mean he's gone?", the older son, Ethan, asked.

"Steele's no longer welcome in this house, now go back to bed", Sam insisted, his patience growing thin.

"But dad…", Billy began.

Suddenly, Sam snapped, and screamed out several swear words and vulgar racial slurs. "YOU _FUCKING_ CHILDREN WILL LISTEN TO WHAT I HAVE TO SAY! GO TO BED NOW! I AM NOT PAYING THOSE DOCTORS TO TAKE YOUR SORRRY ASSES BACK TO THE HOSPITAL AGAIN! NOW STOP CRYING LIKE A BUNCH GOD DAMN _BITCHES_, AND MAN UP ALREADY!", he screamed, before pointing his shotgun directly in his sons' faces.

The terrified children fought back their tears, and reluctantly climbed back up the stairs, not wanting to be shot by their drunken father. Samuel had never snapped like that before.

Still burning up with anger, Sam sat back at the kitchen table, threw his shotgun down on the floor, and started drinking another bottle of whiskey.

**((()-()))**

As Ethan and Billy cried themselves to sleep, Steele ran down the streets of Nome, not looking back even once. Steele had heard every word Sam had said to his poor children. Despite what many of the humans and dogs might have thought, Steele did actually care about the two boys, but there was nothing he could do to help them now. Steele knew that Samuel had snapped after the entire town turned on him, just like how they had turned on his pet malamute. Steele threw one last tortured glance at the Old Mill, where Balto and Jenna were still happily singing, and then ran in the opposite direction, breaking down into tears of his own.

Finally, Steele found somewhere he could hide. He had grown tired of sleeping an abandoned saw mills and on rooftops, this time, he was going to stay in a house. And if the owners of that house saw him, he would just have to deal with that when it came. However, Steele quickly recognized this house as being the home of one of his worst enemies, and realized that he had a perfectly opportunity.

As Steele snuck inside the house, he devised a plan on how to finally get his revenge on Balto, Jenna, Sam, and everyone else in the hellhole called Nome. Steele no longer cared about his reputation, or his job, or even his so-called 'friends'. All Steele wanted now, all he needed, was revenge - blood for his suffering.

**((()-()))**

Unaware of the intense drama that was going on the other side of town, Balto, Jenna, Nikki, Kaltag, Star, Dixie, Sylvie, and Jared continued their performance. Balto and Jenna happily danced to bridge section of "**_Only in America_**", while Kaltag and Jared's bands played a rowdy guitar solo.

"I told you this would be a good day", Jenna said, as Balto spun her around.

"All right, I admit it, this has been the best day I've ever had", Balto said, remembering how the day had started out in anger and fear, and ended with joy and bliss.

"And it's even better that I got to share it with you", Balto said, pulling Jenna close to him.

"**_Only!_**", Jared shouted. "**_Only in America!_**", Balto sang. "**_Where we dream in Red, White, and Blue!_**", Jared sang. "**_Only In America!_**", Balto, Jenna, Dixie, Sylvie, Jared, Nikki, Kaltag, Star, Rocky, Jim, and Mac sang, forming one big chorus. "**_Where we dream as big as we want to! And we all get a chance! Ooh! Everybody gets to dance! Only In America!_**", Jared and the chorus continued.

The music echoed across the entire town, but everyone in Nome was already asleep, so none of the humans even noticed. "**_Yeah, Only In America!_**", Jared sang. "**_Only In America!_**", the chorus continued. "**_Where we dream in Red, White, and Blue!_**", Jared sang, winking at the crowd. "**_Where we dream as big as we want to!_**", Balto sang, holding the last note. "**_Only In America!_**", the chorus shouted. "**_America!_**", Jared and Balto shouted. "**_Only in America!_**", the chorus continued, fading out.

**((()-()))**

**_Nome, Alaska, 10:00 P.M. Monday, February 2, 1925:_**

Not too long after their performance in the Old Mill, Balto and Jenna walked down the snowy streets of Nome, completely exhausted. So far, it had been the longest, and greatest day of Balto's life, he got adopted, took Jenna to his favorite place in the wilderness, ended his rivalry with Nikki, Kaltag, and Star, he became a sled dog, sang in front of everyone, met a kindred spirit, and got Doc's approval for his marriage with Jenna. After a long day like that, Balto was ready to get some sleep - he and Jenna could just barely keep their eyes open as it was.

Finally, the found their destination, the familiar red house with a broken fence - Jenna's home. Except, it was Balto's home now as well. Even though he was completely exhausted, Balto still had energy to appreciate the fact he was going to sleep inside a human home for the first time in his life. He loved the trawler that he had once called his home for past five years, but it just didn't have the qualities that human-built house had. And even though he was going to miss staying with Boris and Muk and Luk, he was also looking forward to his new life in Nome with Jenna.

After climbing through the dog door, Balto and Jenna slowly walked through Rosie's home. They knew that Tom and Eve would already be asleep by this hour, and didn't want to disturb them. After carefully threading across the carpet, Balto and Jenna climbed up the stairs, and onto the second floor.

On the second floor was a darkened hallway. On one side was Tom and Eve's bedroom, plus two additional bathrooms, and on the other side was Rosie's bedroom, where they would be sleeping for the night. The door to Rosie's room was already unlocked, so Balto lightly pushed it open with his paws. The door made a slight creaking sound when it opened, but the wolf-dog didn't hear Tom or Eve stir once in the other bedroom, so he assumed that they just didn't hear it.

Rosie's bedroom was so dark inside, and Balto eyes were so tired, he couldn't make out the room's details, and decided that he would learn more about it in the morning. Balto and Jenna slowly circled Rosie's carpet, and laid down on the soft wool.

"Good night Jen", Balto yawned.

"Good night honey", Jenna yawned back.

Balto's heart floated one last time, as he realized Jenna had called him 'honey', before the wolf-dog started to drift off into a sea of unconsciousness. After such a long day, Balto finally stopped fighting the heaviness in his eyes, and just let his body go limp. The relief was amazing, and the last thing Balto remembered before his mind went blank was bliss - complete and utter bliss.

**((()-()))**

**_Author's Note_**:

In contrast to the bubblegum pop hits by Miley Cyrus I used in "**_Salvation, Part 1_**", this chapter features a wide variety of music, ranging from heavy metal rock to country chart-toppers. Starting with "**_Save Me_**" by Remy Zero, which many may recognize as the theme song for the hit TV series, "**_Smallville_**" (2001 - 2011), the longest running Superman series in history. This chapter also features "**_Only in America_**" by Brooks & Dunn. This patriotic song speaks about the freedom and democracy that defines America, and was performed by Brooks & Dunn themselves at 2001 presidential inauguration. I found that, despite Alaska not becoming an official state until the 1950s, it fit perfectly into this story.


	8. Chapter 8: Team Practice

**_Chapter Eight:_**

**_Team Practice_**

**_Nome, Alaska, 7:00 A.M. Tuesday, February 3, 1925:_**

Nine hours later, as the new morning finally came around, Balto once again found himself repeating a familiar process. As the wolf-dog began to stir into consciousness, his day started like every other morning. His basic functions started first, just like they always did. His heart, lungs, and brain had still been working all night, while the rest of his body had been resting up for the new day.

As his brain slowly came back online, Balto could begin to feel things again. The first thing he noticed was that he was lying on his back, and that the wooden floor of the trawler wasn't as hard as usual. His next thought, was that he was warm, surprisingly warm. The trawler usually had a freezing cold draft inside, forcing him to sleep with a woolen rug wrapped around him. After a few more seconds, Balto came to the conclusion that he wasn't inside the trawler anymore.

Balto's eyes snapped open, and he quickly surveyed their surroundings. The hybrid finally realized that he was sleeping inside a bedroom, a little girl's wooden bed wasn't far away, placed in the corner of the room.

As the part of his brain that stored his memories also came back online, Balto began to remember things from previous day - the greatest day of his life. Balto breathed a sigh of relief as he realized where he was, inside Rosie's bedroom, with Jenna. He could smell the husky's scent, and felt her fur brush against his back, indicating that she was still asleep, right behind him.

Not wanting to wake her up just yet, Balto decided to quietly turn around, so he could get a good look at his new fiancée. Balto slowly rolled over onto his side, trying to be as quiet as possible. But instead of seeing a familiar rust and cream colored husky, Balto found himself nose to nose with another dog - who was a complete stranger. Balto jumped backwards in shock, and yelped startlingly.

Awakened by the sound of Balto screaming, the stranger dog fell backwards, terrified by the sight of the hybrid's wolf-like fangs gleaming in the early morning sunlight.

Lying only a few feet away from the stranger, Jenna woke up to the sound of her boyfriend screaming, and started screaming too as she realized someone else was in her bedroom with her.

Knowing that both his and Jenna's lives were in danger, Balto's next instinct was to attack the stranger, and force him to reveal his identity. Balto immediately charged at the dog, and pinned him against the hard wooden floor.

Being significantly smaller than his adversary, the stranger dog didn't stand a ghost of a chance of freeing himself from Balto's vice grip.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?", Balto shouted, his patience growing thin.

"I'm so sorry!", the dog pleaded desperately.

Immediately recognizing the stranger's voice, Balto looked down, and realized that the smaller dog was really Star, crushed under his giant paws.

"Star, what the heck are you doing?", Balto demanded, before stepping off the husky's chest.

Recognizing Star also, Jenna stood up, and glared at the dog.

"I couldn't sleep last night, I kept hearing all these strange noises, it felt like there was someone inside my house, so I decided to sleep here, close to you", Star explained, standing up and blushing.

"Why would you come here?", Jenna demanded, her voice furious equally as furious as Balto.

"Well, you guys are the only dogs I've known who's stood up to Steele and lived, so…", Star explained, before his voice trailed off the end.

"And you decided that I would be your own personal bodyguard, just like Steele used to be", Balto said, his voice flat.

Star gulped, and nodded his head, fearing the wolf-dog's reaction.

Balto and Jenna stared at the husky for another few seconds, before speaking again.

"Star, I'm sorry, but you can't stay here", Jenna said, frowning.

Star's ears drooped, obviously disappointed.

"I understand", Star replied, before walking towards the door.

"Star, wait!", Balto shouted, calling after him.

Surprised, Jenna raised her eyebrows.

"The guy just stood up to Steele, even I'm a little on edge right now", Balto reasoned, before turning towards Star.

"Star, how many dogfights have you been in since you first moved to Nome?", Balto asked.

"I don't know, four, five? Why do you ask?", Star guessed, confused.

"Because I've been in plenty, too many if you ask me. And every time, I've been outnumbered or up against someone bigger than me", Balto replied, a wry tone to his voice.

"What does that have to do with anything?", Star asked.

"Everything. Because in all those dogfights, I've tried to learn from my mistakes, and I've learned some things along the way too. I won't be your bodyguard Star, but I can teach you some self-defense moves I know, I know it might seem a little strange, taking lessons from a half-wolf, but…", Balto offered, before Star suddenly cut him off.

"I'll take it!", Star replied, quickly running over to shake the hybrid's paw. "So, when do we start?", he asked, his voice hyper.

"We'll start bright and early tomorrow morning", Balto replied.

Star nodded his head, and then ran out the bedroom door, presumably heading back to his home.

"Oh, and don't forget team practice today!", Balto shouted, sticking his head in the hallway.

"I won't!", Star shouted, from downstairs.

Balto chuckled, and walked back inside Rosie's room.

"Think you can teach me some of those lessons? It's not easy being a girl in a town full of sexually driven men", Jenna asked, curious.

"You can come by if you like", Balto replied, though the hybrid seemed distracted.

"You're worried about something", Jenna observed.

"Today's my first real day as a sled dog, and leader of the team at that, of course I'm a little worried", Balto replied, while pacing around the rug.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine, this is what you always dreamed about, remember?", Jenna reminded him.

Balto nodded his head, though Jenna could still tell the wolf-dog was unconvinced.

Eventually, the hybrid decided to change the subject. "So what's on our agenda for the day?", Balto asked jokingly.

"Well at twelve, we'll meet up with Dixie, Sylvie, and Doc to plan the wedding", Jenna replied.

Balto groaned softly, rolling his eyes.

Jenna raised her eyebrows, surprised.

"Jenna, don't take this the wrong way, but your girlfriends are driving me crazy", Balto joked.

Jenna laughed in return, finally understanding the hybrid's reluctance. "Yeah, Dixie and Sylvie hardly ever get to plan a wedding, and when they do, they tend to go a little overboard", she explained.

"Just a little?", Balto asked, sarcastically.

"Hey, watch it. Besides, shouldn't you and your team be practicing by now?", Jenna replied, annoyed.

"Nope, according to Gunnar, team practice isn't until 9:00, so we've got all morning to figure about what were gonna do until then", Balto reminded her, grinning.

"How can one wolf be so annoying?", Jenna muttered.

"It's a family trait", Balto replied, lightening the mood.

But while Jenna was laughing at the hybrid's joke, another thought popped into Balto's head, but this one was a little more serious than the last.

"Just so you know, being the wife of a wolf-dog won't be easy", Balto said abruptly, a warning edge to his voice.

"When is anything in life ever easy?", Jenna replied, sarcastically.

"You'll probably be the talk of the town, known as the wolf-lover for the rest of your life", Balto added, wanting to make sure the husky knew what she was getting into before she recited her vows.

"If I cared what the other dogs thought about me, than I would have never had said 'yes' when you asked me to marry you", Jenna replied, her voice firm.

Balto smiled, as he realized that nothing, not even Steele, could keep his husky bride from walking down the metaphorical aisle on their wedding day.

"Not to mention you'll have put up with me howling all the time", Balto teased lightly, before sitting up on his hind legs.

"Balto, I love it when you howl, it's part of what makes you special. Why do wolves howl so much anyway?", Jenna asked, sitting next to her fiancée.

"I dunno know, I guess it's just a part of my instincts. I howl when I'm happy, when I'm sad, and when I'm angry. Howling can be used as beacon for other wolves, or just a way of letting out my emotions", Balto mused. "You know, it's in your instincts too", he added, chuckling.

"No it isn't", Jenna denied, raising her eyebrows.

"Sure it is, dogs are all the distant cousins of wolves, remember?", Balto reminded her, grinning. "Thousands of years of evolution by man has taught you to bury your instincts deep inside you and just ignore them, like I how I used to ignore mine", he explained, holding Jenna's paws in his.

Still, Jenna looked unconvinced.

"Jenna Jones, I can gladly say that you're more like me than you think you are", Balto said, looking into the husky's eyes.

Finally, Jenna began to understand what Balto had realized during the serum run - that all dogs and wolves were really the same, no matter how different they looked. Just like how all humans were the same, no matter what race, gender, or sex they were. "That's pretty deep, for a renegade wolf that hated himself just a few days ago", she noticed, smiling.

"Yeah, ever since that night in the ravine, it's like every part of me is different", Balto said, before standing up.

"Maybe it was already there, locked away like your instincts", Jenna suggested, standing up too.

As they were leaving Rosie's room, an idea came to Balto. "I know what we should do. We should visit Boris after breakfast, and tell him about the good news", Balto said, walking into the hallway.

"Great idea, Boris will get a kick out of his son getting married. So, what's for breakfast?", Jenna asked, curious.

"How should I know?", Balto laughed, surprised by Jenna's question.

"Hey, you're the one with the super sensitive nose", Jenna replied.

"True", Balto said, before sniffing the air for any sign of activity in the kitchen. He could already smell the food that Eve was cooking downstairs, bacon, eggs, toast, pancakes, waffles, and freshly brewed coffee.

"So, how does freshly baked human food taste?", Balto asked, curious. For most of the hybrid's life, he had mostly eaten food that had already been thrown away in garbage cans, so he had no idea what fresh food tasted like.

"You'll have to try it for yourself to know if you like it. But in my opinion, it is fantastic!", Jenna replied, throwing her arms in the air to emphasize her point.

"Mmm, Sounds promising", Balto chuckled, throwing his arms around Jenna as they walked down the staircase.

But unknown to the happy couple, time was running out. Trouble was brewing just across town, and there was only a few hours left until both dogs would have to fight for their lives.

**((()-()))**

**_Nome, Alaska, 7:30 A.M. Tuesday, February 3, 1925:_**

As Balto and Jenna descended down the wooden staircase, the beautiful scent of freshly baked human food was growing stronger and stronger, tempting Balto more and more every second. The two dogs found that the door that led to the kitchen and dining room was unlocked, allowing them to quietly slip inside. However, they were immediately noticed by Tom, who was sitting at the table reading the morning newspaper.

Thomas looked up from his newspaper, and saw the two dogs walking inside the kitchen, brushing past Evelyn's legs. "Glad to see you're up so soon boy, you've got a big morning ahead of you today", Tom said, smiling.

Balto barked in response, and sat on his hind legs, watching as Eve flipped the pancakes, fried the bacon and eggs, and poured their coffee. After another few minutes, she placed all the food and beverages on a silver tray, and then placed it on the table. Balto could tell that Eve had repeated this process hundreds of times, and had learned over time about how to be a good house wife, inventing her own unique ways of getting her chores done quickly.

Balto could also tell that breakfast was not quite as enjoyable without their daughter Rosie. Beneath their cheery smiles that morning, Thomas and Evelyn were still very worried about their little girl, afraid that the antitoxin would stop working, and that she would relapse at any moment.

Balto wished he could comfort the couple, but it was impossible. Balto wished he could tell them about the promise he had made to watch over Rosie, and that he would be her protector all the while she was laying in her bed, sick. Balto wished now more than ever that he could talk to the humans. Balto sighed, knowing he would simply have to keep his promise to Rosie silently.

As Tom started chewing on a piece of bacon, he held up his newspaper, and pointed towards a massive photograph on the front page. "See this boy? You're now front page news", Tom said, his voice muffled slightly by the muffin he was chewing on.

"Now dear, don't talk with your mouth full", Eve scolded, before sipping from her cup of coffee.

Tom simply ignored her, and placed the paper on the kitchen floor so that Balto and Jenna could read it. Sure enough, Balto recognized the picture on the front page as being a third-person view of when he signed his adoption papers the other day. As he stared at the black and white photograph, Balto realized that the picture must have been taken by one of the dozens of reporters that were inside City Hall that day. Beneath it was a picture of Eve attaching a collar to his neck, from the night before.

Balto tried to read the words on the paper, but he didn't understand the English language. The only human language he understood was Native American and Eskimo languages, and he only knew that by instinct, and because he used to spend a lot of time on an Indian reservation near Nome when he was still a pup.

Luckily for Balto, Tom picked up the paper again, and started reading the words on the front page. "_Local wolf-dog hybrid Balto welcomed into Nome, taking champion sled dog Steele's place on Gunnar Kaasen's rag-tag team of huskies and malamutes_", Tom read, his voice slightly amused.

"No offense Balto, but I never thought I'd see the day when Steele was replaced by a wolf-dog", Tom noted, silently reading the smaller print.

"_Yeah, me neither_", Balto thought silently, still trying to take in the events of the previous day.

"Serves him right, that dog. From what that boy said last night, I'd say that Steele was a regular tyrant", Eve replied, while slicing her fork into a thick and juicy waffle.

"_Tyrant?_", Balto thought, staring at Eve. Hearing the woman's metaphorical words, the hybrid immediately remembered something. Two nights ago, he had compared his life story to the fictional canine Buck, and his own rival Spitz. Buck had taken Spitz's place as lead dog, _after_ Spitz died, killed by the hands of Buck himself. Maybe his life wasn't so much like Buck's after all. Suddenly, Balto heard a loud rumbling sound coming from his stomach area, and realized that he and Jenna still hadn't eaten yet.

Hearing the noise, Tom stood up out of his chair, and looked down at his faithful pets. "Oh, what's wrong with me lately? I forgot to feed the dogs, again", Tom realized, before opening one of the kitchen cabinets and pulling out a familiar bag of canine kibble.

Tom poured the kibble into both Balto and Jenna's dog dishes, while Eve continued to drink her coffee.

"Eat up guys, you're gonna need a lot energy today", Tom whispered, before patting Balto on the head.

Balto barked happily, and licked Tom on the hand in return.

Tom chuckled, and sat back at the table again, reading the second page of his paper. "I've gotta be getting back to work soon, now that the hospital says the children are recovering, the boss man tells me that my week off is over", Tom said, with a bitter tone to his voice.

"Something wrong?", Eve asked, curious.

"I just wish I could be here by Rosie's side until she's better, how can I work knowing that my daughter is sitting in a hospital room, surrounded by strangers?", Tom said, looking up from above his newspaper.

"Now don't exaggerate honey, most the kids at her school are there with her, and I'll be there", Eve reminded him.

"Yeah, I guess", Tom said, but his voice was reluctant.

Eve leaned forward, and softly placed her hands on top of her husband's hands. The kitchen table was small, and it was obviously only designed for four people, allowing Eve to easily stretch her arms across the length of the table.

"Rosie will be fine honey, she has her father's spirit", Eve said, her eyes sparkling.

Tom grinned at her, and laughed softly.

"Look at us, isn't it tradition for the husband to be the one who comforts his wife?", Tom asked, his mood lightened already.

"But we've never been much of a traditional couple, have we? An Englishwoman and an American desert man. Where I come from, our marriage would have been considered such a scandal", Eve reminded him, her voice light.

"But yet, it was a match made in heaven", Tom replied, looking deeply into Eve's eyes, and Eve looked back.

Slowly, the two leaned forward, and without ever breaking direct eye contact, their lips touched.

Balto and Jenna watched in amazement as the old married couple kissed passionately, like they were still teenagers on their first date. Balto had asked Jenna the other day how such polar opposites could have ever been attracted to each other. But now he understood, it was just like his relationship with Jenna. It didn't matter who they were, or where they came from, all that mattered was that they cared about each other, and that they didn't care what the others thought of them.

After a few more seconds, Tom and Eve pulled back from each other, and breathed in slowly.

"Well", Eve said awkwardly, toying with her eggs with her fork.

"Yeah", Tom replied, his voice equally as awkward.

"Sorry you had to see that guys", Tom joked, looking at Balto and Jenna.

In response, Eve scoffed, and started chewing on her eggs again.

Balto smiled, and started to swallow some of his kibble, deep in thought. The past few days had taught him so much, how to love, how to embrace change, how to accept himself for what he was. And yet, there was still a nagging feeling inside him. Like there was still more to come. Like there was still one more lesson to learn.

However, Balto tried to ignore the feeling, not wanting to start worrying again.

**((()-()))**

**_Nome, Alaska, 8:00 A.M. Tuesday, February 3, 1925:_**

30 minutes later, Balto and Jenna stepped out of Rosie's house, refreshed and ready for the new day. Jenna was right, human food tasted amazing, even better than dog kibble. While in the dining room, Tom had snuck them pieces of toast and strips of bacon from underneath the table whenever Eve wasn't looking. And after 'wolfing' down their breakfast, Balto and Jenna were ready to find Boris, and drop the ball on the old goose - hoping that their big news wouldn't cause him to have a heart attack.

Before setting off for his trawler, Balto and Jenna surveyed all of Front Street. There were a lot more people outside on the streets that day, and they all seemed to be in a good mood. Balto knew that they were all euphoric about their children surviving the epidemic, and they all shared the same happiness he felt that day.

"Are you ready?", Balto asked.

"I was born ready", Jenna replied, smiling.

Balto grinned, breathed in the arctic air, and set off down Front Street, a special kick in the hybrid's step that morning. The feeling of being able to walk down the street, amongst all the other dogs and humans and not be ridiculed, it felt great, every bit as good as he had imagined it would feel.

Not long after they set out, Balto and Jenna passed by a few other dogs that greeted him, and the wolf-dog gladly greeted them back. Two of them, Balto immediately recognized, Doc and his second-in-command Jared.

"Hey Doc!", Balto shouted, quickly gaining the old St. Bernard's attention.

"Balto, Jenna, it's good to see you two up so early", Doc said, walking over to greet the couple.

"Yeah, we were just on our way to tell Boris about our wedding plans", Jenna explained, shaking Doc's paw.

"Boris?", Jared asked.

"Yeah, he's Balto's goose father", Jenna explained.

"You have a goose for a father?", Jared asked, chuckling.

"It's a long story", Balto replied.

"We have plenty of time", Doc said.

Balto sighed, and then started telling Doc and Jared the story of how he met Boris.

**((()-()))**

On the other side of the street, Blaze, along with his best friend Derek, and his girlfriend Grace, were walking towards the Old Mill, anticipating their chance to escape the frigid temperatures of the streets, by warming up next to the Old Mill's furnaces.

"I still can't believe the nerve of that wolf-dog!", Blaze grumbled, still in a bad mood because he had been foiled the night before.

"I still don't see why you're making such a big deal about this", Grace said, annoyed.

"He doesn't belong here Grace!", Blaze snapped.

"Blaze, you don't decide who deserves to have a home and who doesn't, no one does!", Grace replied, growing more and more frustrated of her boyfriend's prejudices.

Blaze was about to give the husky a languid reply, when something stopped the surly dog in his tracks. On the other side of the street, only about 4 or 5 meters away from them, were Balto and Jenna, chatting with Jared and Doc about some old goose named Boris.

Blaze elbowed Derek in the stomach to get his attention, and both dogs locked their sights on the half-wolf.

Immediately realizing what her two friends were planning, Grace stood in their way. "Don't even think about it!", she warned, growling.

Normally, Blaze would have just kept going and ignored his girlfriend's warning, but something else was stopping him. Doc was once again standing in his way, keeping from him reaching the wolf-dog unseen.

Blaze snarled in frustration, before storming down the street, and angrily charging into the Old Mill, with Derek and Grace right behind him.

Completely unaware of their close encounter, Balto and Jenna finally finished their story, and bid Doc farewell.

"See you at 11:00!", Jenna shouted, as she and Balto waved the old dog good-bye.

With their last distraction finally out the way, the two dogs made their way out of tome, and back towards a familiar wooden trawler.

**((()-()))**

After a few more minutes, Balto saw his destination, the old trawler, both his and Boris' home for the past five years.

Balto and Jenna slowly climbed up the wooden ramp that led to the upper deck, and barked as loud as they could, their voices echoing off the mountains. Underneath them, they could hear a clattering sound, and a large thud, and immediately knew that Boris had heard them. Judging by the scent in the air, Balto guessed that Boris wasn't alone.

The door to cabin swung open, and the Russian snow goose ran out, nearly stumbling over the wooden deck as his webbed feet rapidly collided with the floor.

"Balto, you're back!", Boris shouted, before hugging the hybrid around his legs.

"I always come back Boris", Balto replied, chuckling.

He had almost forgotten what it was like being home, with the goose he had considered his father for so long.

"You didn't come home last night", Boris said, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I spent the night at Jenna's", Balto explained, worriedly glancing at his husky girlfriend.

"That's actually why we're here, there's something we've been meaning to tell you Boris", Jenna said, speaking up for the first time since she arrived.

"What is it?", Boris asked, confused.

"Boris, we've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and we're getting married in a few days", Balto said, waiting for the goose to reply.

However, Boris, instead of responding, fell silent, seemingly frozen in place. After staring at the wolf-dog for a few moments, trying to comprehend what he just heard, Boris quietly spoke up. "What did you just say?", he asked, his voice disbelieving.

"I'm getting married to Jenna in a few days", Balto repeated calmly, grinning now.

"No kidding?", Boris asked, speaking in the same bewildered tone.

Balto nodded his head, and continued to stare at the goose, worried that he might have caused him to have a stroke.

Instead, Boris immediately flew forward, and hugged Balto around the neck, cutting off the wolf-dog's oxygen flow.

"My son! My idiot son is getting married!", Boris proudly proclaimed, hugging Balto even harder.

Jenna giggled, and watched as Boris roughly rubbed Balto across the head.

Balto tried to tell Boris that he was choking him, but eventually decided to just let his proud father enjoy the moment.

**((()-()))**

As the sun continued to rise over Nome, Balto and Boris sat on top of the trawler, while Balto explained how he proposed to Jenna two nights before. While Balto and Boris were talking, Muk and Luk had unexpectedly stopped by for a visit, and were currently playing around in the snow. However, Boris had seemed so shocked, he hardly even noticed the polar bear's antics. Jenna, knowing that Balto and Boris needed a moment alone, decided to play with in the snow with Muk and Luk in the meantime.

"So, that's pretty much everything", Balto finished.

"Whoa", Boris said softly, trying to absorb all the huge news that Balto had unloaded on him.

"I can't believe you ever worked up the nerve to propose", Boris finally said.

"That's one of the other reasons why I'm here Boris", Balto said.

The goose lifted his eyebrows, confused.

"Would you like to be my best man at the wedding?", Balto asked, his voice hopefully.

The goose smiled, and then placed his wing on Balto's shoulder. "I would be honored, son", Boris said proudly.

Suddenly, a loud gonging sound rang out over the land, which Balto recognized as being the clock tower in central Nome. The time was now 9:00 A.M. Balto knew that it was the hour he would meet with Gunnar for his very first sledding practice.

Balto looked at the town of Nome, and then back at the trawler, feeling conflicted. As much as he wanted to be on time for his very first practice run, he wasn't quite ready to leave Boris and his old friends yet, worried that they might offended by him leaving all the time.

Understanding Balto's dilemma, Boris turned to look at the wolf-dog, and then sighed. "Go, it's your time now son", Boris said.

Balto stood up, but then hesitated again.

"Go!", Boris urged.

"I'll be back as soon as I can Boris", Balto promised, before leaping off the edge of the ship.

"Come on Jen, it's time to go", Balto said.

Jenna nodded her head, bid Muk and Luk good-bye, and then followed Balto.

Boris watched as Balto and Jenna ran across the snowy field, and back into Nome.

Boris sighed again. He had been the wolf-dog's father for as long as he could remember, but lately, Balto had begun to get more and more distant from him. And Boris realized that Balto no longer needed him, he was part of Balto's old life, and he the hybrid was starting a new life with Jenna. And Boris couldn't help but wonder what was the point of him staying in Nome. The only reason that Boris had stayed for so long was because Balto still needed him. But if Balto didn't need him anymore, then maybe he should just leave, migrate back to Russia with the other snow geese.

Behind Boris, Muk and Luk formed a giant snowball, and were prepared to chuck it the snow geese's head, when Boris muttered, "_Don't even think about it!_".

The polar bears gulped, and quickly dropped the snowball over their own heads.

**((()-()))**

**_Nome, Alaska, 9:00 A.M. Tuesday, February 3, 1925:_**

Unaware of Boris's depression, Balto dashed down Front Street. The feeling of running was wonderful. Balto had ran before, thousands of times to get away from Steele. But this was the first time that he had ever ran just for fun, in the middle of town. He allowed his wolfish muscles to push himself forward at breakneck speeds. While running, he let his tongue hang out of his mouth, tasting the air around him. The wind brushed against his fur, cooling him off before the hybrid had a chance of overheating.

Balto and Jenna had already split up, while running they had agreed that Balto would go to his team practice, while Jenna would spend the rest of the morning with Dixie and Sylvie.

Balto ran until he arrived in downtown Nome, where the hybrid saw what he had been looking for. Gunnar Kaasen and his team of sled dogs were waiting beneath the clock tower, with the harnesses ready to be attached.

Gunnar smiled, and patted Balto's head. "Good, you're right on time", Gunnar said, turning to face his team.

"Since Balto's new here, we'll start with some of the basics on this practice run", Gunnar said, raising his voice so the whole team could hear him. Even though Gunnar knew that dogs couldn't talk, he talked to his team like they were humans because he felt like they understood him, and unknown to Gunnar, they did.

Balto watched as the musher attached the harness to Nikki, Kaltag, and Star, and the other three dogs on the team. Balto waited calmly and patiently, but was secretly bursting with anticipation as Gunnar walked towards him with the lead harness.

Gunnar slowly attached Balto to the lead harness, brushing the wool against his neck fur. The harness didn't quite fit Balto, since it had already been tailored to Steele's neck, and it would take another few weeks before Gunnar could make another one fit to Balto's neck, but the wolf-dog didn't really care. He was finally leading a sled dog team.

Balto's long and bushy tail wagged in excitement as he realized that he was living his life long dream. Behind them, Balto's tail brushed Star's nose again, and the small husky involuntarily sneezed. Balto quickly lowered his tail, remembering how Star's sneezing had accidentally caused an avalanche during the serum run.

Gunnar climbed onto the edge of the sled, and securely locked his hands on the handle. The musher pulled a small whistle out of his pocket, which Balto recognized as being the whistle he would use to signal his team. The hybrid was brimming with excitement, and felt like running off right now like a mad dog, but restrained himself, knowing that he had to wait for Gunnar's signal first.

"Good dogs", Gunnar said, knowing hard it was for the dogs to restrain themselves. Finally, the two little words Balto had been waiting for poured out of the man's mouth. "Now mush!", he shouted.

"**_A Useful Striker_**" by Murray Gold begins.

Gunnar blew his whistle, and the team sprang into action. Balto pushed his hind legs forward with all the strength he could muster, propelling both the sled and his subsequent teammates forward. Gunnar immediately held onto the handle as hard as he could, as Balto started pulling the sled down Front Street. Balto had ran with the team before, two nights ago when he was running with the medicine. But he had been so busy focusing on the getting them and the medicine home safely, he had forgotten to savor the moment. But now, as he was pulling the weight of the sled behind him, Balto had all the time in the world.

Though the team had to be moving a good 10 to 15 miles per hour, the world was moving in slow motion for Balto, just as it had before when he was running with Jenna.

"_This is amazing!_", Balto thought, watching as the world blurred by him in every direction. He loved the feeling of the snow being crushed beneath his paws, and the crunching sound it made whenever he ran.

Soon, Gunnar led the team out of town, wanting the dogs to practice their running some more in the woods. The experienced musher was amazed by how Balto was reacting to his commands, the wolf-dog somehow understood everyone of them, even Gunnar had never trained him before. Unknown to the confused man, Balto had been watching Steele and team practice for years, and knew every sledding command by hard.

"_Left, right, right, left, haw, gee, gee, haw, Yee-Haw!_", Balto thought, while amply dodging numerous trees and rocks.

"Whoa, Balto, slow down", Gunnar cautioned, worried.

Balto immediately obeyed his musher and slowed his run, remembering how his out-of-control speed had caused him to fall off a cliff only two days earlier.

Balto's teammates breathed a sigh of relief, as they were finally able to keep up with their lead dog. Balto turned his head and noticed that the some of the other dogs were already exhausted, running at their utmost limit just so they could keep up with him. He had been having so much fun running, Balto had almost forgotten that six other dogs were attached to him, and slowed down his pace even more, not wanting to give his teammates a heart attack.

**((()-()))**

After running for a few more hours, the team approached a nearby brook.

"Okay guys, it's about to get rough", Balto warned, barking.

The other dogs nodded their heads, understanding. Balto was surprised at how willing the team was to follow their new leader, but tried refocused all his attention on getting over the brook.

"Guys, I'm gonna need all of you to jump up, but only on my signal", Balto ordered, warning the team in advance. All the dogs barked in agreement, and Balto started to run faster, rapidly gaining speed.

As the brook rapidly approached, Star gasped in fear as he realized that Balto was still not slowing down.

At the last possible moment, Balto kicked forward with his hind legs, and propelled himself high into the air, above the brook.

Finally understanding what Balto wanted them to do, Nikki, Kaltag, Star, and the additional axel dogs all leapt into the air too, dragging the sled behind them.

All of time seemed to slow down, as Balto his the team flew through the air. The wolf-dog looked down, as he soared over the rushing water. He could see everything below him moving in slow motion, along with the terrified faces of his teammates as they began to free fall.

Half-way through his descent, Balto carefully positioned his feet, so he would land softly on the snow, on the other side of the brook. Realizing the other half of Balto's plan, the other six dogs quickly did the same, while Gunnar simply held on for dear life.

Instead of plummeting into the freezing cold water like he had expected them too, Gunnar, Balto, the dogs, and the sled all landed safely on the other side, missing the freezing white water by only a few inches.

After hitting solid ground, and coming to a complete stop, Gunnar stepped off the sled, and furiously blew his whistle again, hurting the dogs' ears.

"Balto!", Gunnar shouted, his voice stern.

Balto turned around, and immediately realized his new musher was angry at him.

"That was the most dangerous and risky thing I've ever seen, you could have killed us all!", Gunnar shouted, throwing his hands in the air to emphasize point.

Balto gulped in response.

But instead of more shouting some more, Gunnar's voice became soft and thoughtful. "And yet, I've never seen any other dog move like that before, not even Steele", Gunnar mused, pacing the sled.

"Maybe appointing you lead dog wasn't such a bad idea after all", Gunnar said, raising his eyebrow.

The man leaned over, and patted Balto on the head. "Good work boy", he whispered, before getting back on his sled again.

"Mush!", Gunnar shouted, blowing his whistle.

After successfully crossing his first stream, Balto and his new team continued onward, venturing further into the wilderness.

**((()-()))**

**_Nome, Alaska, 11:30 A.M. Tuesday, February 3, 1925:_**

After running throughout every nearly square inch of the nearby forest, Balto began to recognize certain parts of the area. The wolf-dog turned his head to survey his surroundings, and noticed that some of the trees had claw marks scratched on the side of them. Balto immediately recognized the marks as being from his making. During the serum run, Balto had scratched several trees to mark his path while looking for the lost team, which meant that Nome wasn't far away.

Noticing Balto's alertness, Gunnar spoke up.

"Practice's almost over guys, we've just gotta get home", Gunnar said, holding onto the reins.

After running through another brush of trees, Balto saw his old trawler off in the distance, and Nome not far behind it.

"Home sweet home", Gunnar whispered.

As they ran past the trawler, Balto looked up and saw a familiar face. Boris was sitting on the edge of the boat, watching Balto's first run. Gunnar didn't seem to notice the goose, so Balto barked to him. In response, Boris waved his wings, and saluted Balto. Boris happily watched the team continued to run past the old trawler, and back into Nome.

After running down the familiar area of Front Street again, Balto barked in joy, before coming to a complete stop just beneath the clock tower, exactly where they had started.

After the sled came to a complete halt, Gunnar pulled out his stop watch, and his mouth fell open in shock as he read the readings. "Two hours and 30 minutes to cover the entire surrounding area, an all time low! Even faster than Steele!", Gunnar realized, staring at his team in amazement. He then looked up at the clock tower to confirm whether or not his readings were true. "We'll be winning races in no time!", he said, grinning proudly.

Gunnar patted all his dogs on the head, and proudly rubbed Balto on the head. "You did good today boy", he whispered. Gunnar then unhooked their harnesses, and walked off.

After taking a few moments to catch his breath, Balto turned to the other dogs, grinning. "Good job guys", he complimented.

"Hey, you were the one who was on fire out there", Kaltag replied, grinning back.

"Yeah, I've never seen anybody jump that high before", Nikki added.

Balto chuckled, and then glanced at the clock tower.

"Practice is over, and I gotta go talk to Doc about the wedding, Dixie will kill me if I'm late", Balto joked, a smile on the wolf-dog's face. For Balto, It was surprising to the hybrid how quickly he fit in to his new life in Nome, but he really liked it.

"Hey, don't forget about those lessons tomorrow", Star reminded him, his voice anxious.

"I won't", Balto said, quoting Star's words from earlier that morning.

The wolf-dog threw one last grin at his new team, and then briskfully ran off to find Jenna, leaving Nikki, Kaltag, and Star behind.

"Hey, what lessons were you talking about?", Kaltag asked, curious.

"Balto's teaching me some self-defense lessons tomorrow", Star replied.

"What do you need those for?", Kaltag asked, still confused.

"Just in case… just in case something comes up", Star stuttered, feeling a little bit embarrassed.

"Oh, you mean just in case you run into Steele", Kaltag realized, comprehension dawning on the husky's face.

Star nodded his head in reply, and Kaltag chuckled under his breath.

Kaltag knew that Star always felt really anxious around other, bigger, dogs. He was constantly worrying about whether or not someone was out to get him.

"Come on, let's go to Old Mill, I need a bone", Nikki suggested, before walking in the direction of the Old Mill.

"Not me, I think I'll go home and take a nap. My feet are killing me", Star groaned, staring at his swollen feet. After rubbing his throbbing paws, Star started to walk in the direction of his house.

"Hey, if you're not careful, Steele's gonna get ya!", Kaltag shouted after him, laughing.

Star rolled his eyes, and simply ignored his teammate, before mumbling something underneath his breath.

Kaltag shrugged, already knowing that Star had no sense of humor, and walked off with Nikki.

**((()-()))**

**_Nome, Alaska, 11:40 A.M. Tuesday, February 3, 1925:_**

Star walked through the dog door of his house, and yawned. The small husky really needed a good nap right about now, after all that running he had been doing for the past week. First the serum run and now a three-hour long team practice, Star could barely even keep his eyes open.

The house was still dark and empty inside, and all the curtains were closed for some reason. Star squinted his eyes, trying to see in the dark, and wishing that he had Balto's glow-in-the-dark eyes. The only good thing about the darkness was that it would make it easier for him to go to sleep.

Star stumbled over his dog dish that was lying in the middle of the floor, and landed painfully on his face. At that moment, when the world had been spinning all around him at high speed, Star had noticed something that shouldn't have been there. A flash blue in the darkness of the room. Star tried to refocus his eyes, and find the blue spot again, but it had already disappeared.

Star sighed, and just shrugged it off. "_It was probably just my imagination again_", he thought. Star had been worried about Steele returning to get him ever since he had returned to Nome from the serum run, and was terrified to leave his friends side. After the past two days, he had formed a new friendship with Balto, so the husky felt pretty safe for now. He then remembered Kaltag's reaction when Star had confessed his fear to him.

"_Steele's gonna get ya_", Star mocked, poorly imitating Kaltag's voice. "_Stupid Kaltag_", he muttered underneath his breath.

"Oh, I don't know", a cold voice said from behind him.

Star's heart stopped, as he recognized the familiar voice, and whirled around to find the source.

"Sometimes, Kaltag is spot on", Steele sneered, menacingly stepping out of the shadows, and slowly moving towards Star.


	9. Chapter 9: Eyes of Steele

**_Chapter Nine:_**

**_Eyes of Steele_**

**_Nome, Alaska, 11:45 A.M. Tuesday, February 3, 1925:_**

Star gasped, and fell backwards in shock. The room had been so dark, he hadn't even noticed the large black and white malamute hiding in the corner, listening to his every word.

For every step Steele made towards him, Star subconsciously stepped backward, trying his best to avoid the malamute. "Uh-Um, H-Hi Steele…. H-How a-are y-you?", he asked nervously, stuttering.

Steele didn't reply, but instead, a wicked grin slowly spread over the malamute's face. Steele's razor sharp teeth started to show, and his light blue eyes began to glow with excitement.

Star's tail suddenly touched solid wall, and his heart stopped when he realized what Steele had tricked him into doing. The small husky was out of places to run - Steele had backed him into a corner, literally.

"S-Steele, p-please don't do this", Star begged, trying his hardest not to stutter, in fear that it would only set Steele off.

In a flash, Steele ran forward, charging directly at the sled dog.

Star closed his eyes, and braced himself as Steele tackled him - shoving him against the wall, and easily bruising the husky.

Star whimpered in fear, and braced himself again, this time for the worse Steele could do to him.

"Don't piss yourself, you little runt, I'm not here for you!", Steele snarled, through clenched teeth.

Terrified, Star realized that he was indeed only seconds away from losing control of his bladder, and doing just that. However, Star fought to control himself, knowing that humiliating himself in front of Steele would not help his situation.

Meanwhile, Steele was taking utter delight in Star's fear of him. There was nothing Steele loved more than intimidating people, seeing them whimper and cower at the very sight of him made him feel like he was on top of the world.

Star looked up at Steele, scared and confused. Steele had pushed him into a small shaft of light, and Star could finally see the psychotic malamute's face. Steele didn't look like himself, at all. His fur was all matted and tangled, his cold blue eyes looked deadlier, and his teeth seemed even sharper than they were before, with a bright yellow hue to them. At that moment, Steele looked more like a wild stray than a champion sled dog.

"T-Then, w-why a-are you h-here?", Star finally asked, terrified of the malamute's answer.

Steele grinned darkly, savoring the moment. "I want to leave a message for your new best friend", he growled, causing Star to shudder.

"Tell that half-breed mongrel Bingo that I'm calling him out. We'll meet at high noon, inside the Boiler Room", Steele continued, grinning.

Star stared at Steele. He was grinning, but it was not his usual smug smile, it looked much more deranged and dangerous.

"AND IF THAT COWARD DOESN'T SHOW, THEN I'LL TEAR HIM, AND ALL HIS LITTLE FRIENDS, FROM LIMB TO LIMB! STARTING WITH YOU!", Steele suddenly shouted, snarling at the end.

Star gulped again, this time as a result of the malamute being so close to his face.

Steele abruptly released Star from his grip, and the smaller husky slammed against the wooden floor. Star writhed in excruciating pain, as he had landed on his shoulder. Star's first instinct was to clutch his injured shoulder and scream in agony. But Star knew that Steele was still in the room, and would surely kill him if he screamed.

"GO NOW!", Steele bellowed, growing impatient.

Star yelped in fear, and ran outside as fast as he could. The husky's yelps slowly faded off into the distance, until they finally stopped completely.

Steele grinned, so far his plan had worked. Steele knew that his career as a sled dog was over, and that he had no chance of finding another home - not that he wanted to anymore. As of two nights ago, he had only one wish, one ambition - to make Balto pay. He had hoped that Nikki, Kaltag, and Star would join him. But after that lovefest he'd seen during team practice, he knew that any chances of that happening were slim.

Steele was outraged that Balto had not only stolen his glory, but also his girl, his friends, and his job all in one night. Steele knew that he had to set things right, he had to make the world right again - even if it meant the end of his own life. Steele knew that without Nikki, Kaltag, and Star to back him up, he had almost no chance of beating Balto.

But now, Steele _hoped_ that Balto would kill him, it would be put an end to his miserable life. After losing everything, Steele had absolutely nothing left to live for. And it would force Balto to reveal himself for what he really was, a filthy, lying, murdering wolf that needed to wiped off the face of the Earth.

Steele frowned slightly. He had no idea what death would be like. He also knew it would be almost impossible for him to _let_ Balto kill him. After all, it was suicide. It was a Kamikaze mission. It would be the end of Steele.

Steele also wondered about the possibility of Jenna trying to stop their fight, begging him not to kill Balto, or even being foolish enough to try and throw herself in-between them. He knew he couldn't bring himself to kill Jenna if he had to. But she had sided with Balto, and had stabbed Steele in the back too many times. Even though he was evil, it still went against Steele's moral code to kill women. He could rape them, and beat them to a bloody pulp, but he couldn't kill them. So Steele hoped for Jenna's sake that that bitch wouldn't try to get involved.

Steele walked out the back door of Star's house, and slinked into the Boiler Room. Now, it was time for him to wait. Steele already knew that Balto would show, he was too much of a hero and a fool to let the malamute beat on his friends. All he had to do was threaten a few them, and Balto would come - and then justice would finally be served.

Steele sighed, this was not how he had pictured his final hours on Earth would be. Still, it would all be worth it soon enough, if it mean finally destroying Bingo and whatever new life he had built for himself in Nome. Over six years ago, Steele had made a solemn pact to torture and destroy any and every wild wolf that he'd ever meet, no matter what the cost. It was because of those damn savages that he had lost someone very close to him. The wolves had torn Steele away from the one person he had ever truly respected. When Steele was just a young pup, the savages had taken his father away from him, and now, he was going to make every last one of them pay.

**((()-()))**

**_Nome, Alaska, 11:55 A.M. Tuesday, February 3, 1925:_**

Meanwhile, oblivious to Star's peril, or even Steele's sinister plot, Balto, Jenna, Dixie, and Sylvie walked down Front Street, speaking to Doc. The four friends were all in a euphoric mood that morning. They were talking to Doc about a hot topic in Nome, what day Doc would preach their wedding.

Despite their intentions to keep their wedding private, news of their upcoming engagement had spread fast, and every dog on Front Street was anxiously listening in on their conversation. Still, Balto and Jenna tried to ignore them, focused more on Doc.

"Sure, I'd love to minister the wedding", Doc said.

"Excellent, Jenna and I have already agreed on the date, Sunday, February 8, 1925", Balto explained, his voice anticipant.

Doc nodded, though the St. Bernard was a little surprised that the wedding date was so close.

"We want to get married as soon as possible", Jenna explained.

"Well, I'm sure you two will make a great couple", Doc replied, smiling.

Jenna blushed, and Doc tipped his head, before walking off.

As soon as Doc left, Dixie turned towards her husky friend. "I still can't believe you've made the date so close, that hardly gives us bridesmaids time to prepare everything", she complained.

"Dixie, it's just a dog wedding, it's not like there'll be a wedding and rings, just a simple '_I Do_'", Jenna replied, rolling her eyes.

Still, Dixie groaned. "You never let me have any fun", she whined.

"Actually, I'm surprised you're okay with all this at all", Balto mused.

"Okay with what?", Dixie asked, confused.

"Your best friend marrying me, a wolf-dog", Balto explained, raising his thick brows.

But to his surprise, Dixie started laughing. "You think I would be worried about that?", she asked, in-between giggles.

In response, Balto shrugged.

"The heart wants what it wants, even if it's some evil, lying, backstabbing, two-timing, cheating, little", Dixie rambled, her voice becoming more frantic.

"Dixie, you're ranting again", Sylvie said, rolling her eyes.

"Ugh, right", Dixie groaned.

Dixie then turned to grin at Balto. "Besides, you seem like an okay guy, you have to be to get Jenna to like you", she noted, chuckling.

Balto smiled, and fought back the urge to blush.

"Do you know she's turned down every guy in town?", Dixie asked, grinning mischievously.

Jenna scowled at Dixie, while Balto chuckled in response. "Yep, she's pretty picky about her men", Balto joked, chortling.

Annoyed, Jenna lightly slapped the back of Balto's head, already knowing that she hadn't caused the wolf-dog any real pain.

"I just never thought Jenna would marry a jock", Dixie added, her voice disbelieved.

"Trust me, I never thought I'd be one", Balto replied, grinning.

"That reminds me, Balto, you still haven't chosen a best man", Sylvie said.

"Actually I've already asked Boris, if he'll come, that is", Balto replied, frowning slightly.

"The goose?", Dixie asked. She had seen Balto with a goose numerous times from a distance, so she assumed that was who the hybrid meant.

"Yeah", Balto replied.

"Why wouldn't he come?", Jenna asked, curious. She had only talked with Boris a few times, but to her, he seemed like the guy who wouldn't miss his adopted son's wedding.

"Boris lives near a town made up entirely of dogs, and the woods are filled with wolves, so sometimes I think he feels lonely and out of place being the only goose in Nome", Balto replied, worried.

The three dogs continued to walk down Front Street, and Balto walked towards Jenna. "Jenna, we're not doing anything tomorrow, so how about another trip to the meadow in the morning?", the wolf-dog suggested, lowering his voice and smiling.

Jenna grinned and nodded her head. "Sure, I'm looking forward to another race", she chuckled.

"Hey, you only won that last one because I was distracted", Balto replied, laughing.

Suddenly, he remembered the dark shape moving across the meadow. The shape had seemed so familiar, and so did it smell. If only he could remember it, it had seemed so unimportant to him, but at the same time, something inside was telling him it was somehow crucial.

Suddenly, Balto could hear the sound of someone running, along with the sound of someone panting exhaustedly. Balto turned around and watched as Star ran up to them, a look of absolute terror on the husky's face.

"What is it Star?", Jenna asked, worried.

"Don't tell me Kaltag got his head stuck in his dog door again, because I am not pulling him out again", Dixie said, annoyed.

"It's Steele!", Star shouted, screaming at the top of his lungs.

Balto's heart fell out of his chest, and he stared at the husky, still trying to process what Star had just said.

Oblivious to Balto's shock, Star continued with his story. "He says he wants Balto to meet him in the boiler room, alone, for a fight to the death!", Star shrieked.

As everyone else freezed up, Balto's brain was the first to react. The dark shape in the meadow had looked far too familiar. And before, when he thought he had smelled Steele's scent the other day - Steele _had_ been there. The reason that no one had seen Steele for the past 48 hours was because he had been there, watching them the entire time - in town, in the woods, during the race, and inside Star's house the night before.

"Jenna, he's been watching us. Steele's been following us for days.", Balto explained, his voice urgent.

"What?", Jenna shrieked.

Balto quickly explained his theory to the other dogs, and everyone's mouths fell open in disbelief.

"Then why didn't he attack?", Jenna asked, terrified. And then the reason was clear, and Jenna immediately regretted asking, because she knew she didn't want to hear the answer.

However, Balto decided to answer her question anyway, wanting to speak his revelation out loud.

"Because he's been waiting, he wants to kill me in front of everyone else in town, to prove that he's still top dog", Balto said, in lowered voice.

In response, everyone gasped, while Balto turned to stare at the Boiler Room, where he knew Steele was waiting for him.

**((()-()))**

**_Nome, Alaska, 11:59 A.M. Tuesday, February 3, 1925:_**

After talking for few more minutes about what to do, Balto had finally come to a decision, but refused to tell the others about his plan. As Balto and his friends raced towards the Boiler Room, the wolf-dog wanted to break into a full out sprint, but was forced to run slower so his friends could keep up.

"Okay Star, what did Steele tell you exactly?", Jenna asked, concerned.

"He said something about Balto stealing his life, and that he's ready to end this once and for all", Star said, combing his memories.

"That's not very helpful!", Jenna snapped, frustrated.

"Oh, well I'm sorry Jenna, when I'm in extreme fear, I don't exactly taking notes!", Star snapped back.

"Jenna, Star, calm down, I've been expecting this ever since I got back to Nome", Balto interrupted, his voice strangely calm.

"So what are you going to do?", Sylvie asked.

"If Steele wants to fight me so badly, I'm going to give him what he wants", Balto growled.

Jenna opened her mouth, before Balto interrupted her.

"Jenna don't you see? This is never going to end! We'll all be living in fear forever if I don't stand up to Steele now", Balto said.

Jenna sighed and rolled her eyes. "I was gonna say, I want to come with you", she explained.

Balto immediately stopped running, and turned to growl at the husky, outraged. "Jenna, I'm not going to put you at risk, Steele's my rival, my bully, and this is my fight! Now go home and wait there until this all over!", Balto ordered.

"**_The Mad Man With A Box_**", by Murray Gold begins.

Underneath Balto's false anger, he was sincerely terrified that something would happen to Jenna if she got involved, and was hoping he could scare her into staying behind. Instead, Jenna just stood her ground, already knowing that Balto wouldn't hurt her.

"Balto, when I hurt my paw the serum run, I had to just lie at home, and wait while the man I loved risked his life to help others, and I felt so helpless, and so useless", Jenna explained, her voice soft and tender.

"And now my fiancée is going to fight again, and I'm not staying behind this time. So whether you like it or not, I'm coming with you!", Jenna said firmly, her voice stern.

Balto growled again, but Jenna still didn't budge from her spot, completely unfazed. After a few more moments, Balto realized there was no way he could force Jenna not to join him - the husky would rather die than to abandon the man she loved. "You're so stubborn", he said, between clenched teeth.

"The marital bond says we stick together, for better of for worse, and if we die, then we die together", Jenna said proudly.

Balto sighed, before he started walking again.

"Alright, fine. Sylvie, Dixie, Star, go warn the other dogs in the Old Mill, I don't anyone else caught in crosshairs", Balto ordered.

Dixie, Sylvie, and Star all nodded their heads, and ran off.

But before she left with the others, Dixie stopped, and placed her paw on Balto's shoulder. "Balto?", she asked.

"Yeah, what is it?", Balto asked.

"Kick Steele's tail all across Nome for me!", Dixie said, grinning.

"Sure", Balto replied warily.

Dixie nodded, and ran into the Old Mill with her friends.

After they left, Balto and Jenna finally arrived at their destination, the Boiler Room. The town's clock tower rang loudly, letting everyone know that high noon had come. Balto and Jenna glanced at the doors of the Boiler Room, knowing that their doom was possibly just a few feet away.

"So how do we do this?", Jenna asked.

"Well, I say we try to keep the fight away from the other dogs, like I told Dixie, I don't want anyone else hurt because of me", Balto replied.

Balto glanced at Jenna one last time, a rueful smile on his face. "Are you ready?", he asked, his voice wary.

"I was born ready!", Jenna growled.

"I love you Jenna, I love you so much", Balto said, his voice saddened.

Knowing that this would probably be his last chance to kiss the woman he loved, Balto abruptly grabbed Jenna around the waist, and pressed his lips against hers. Jenna was swept off her feet by his sudden motion, but she still didn't argue, instead, pushing back twice as hard. After kissing passionately for a few more seconds, Balto eventually forced himself to pull away from Jenna, since the hybrid had wanted to just keep kissing her for all eternity. But Balto knew he still had a job to do.

The wolf-dog's eyes glowed a bright yellow, and he bared his fangs in fury. "Then let's do this!", he snarled.

With all the force he could muster, Balto lifted up his front paws, and kicked down the door. The door immediately gave way, and landed on the concrete floor with a loud thud. With no barrier to block it, sunlight poured in through the open doorway, and lit up the entire room.

Balto and Jenna stared inside, already knowing who to look for. They didn't have to look for long, because the Boiler Room was completely empty, all except for one dog. The other dogs had all fled as soon as they had seen him coming.

The black and white malamute inside grinned when he saw the couple arrive, for he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. To kill the wolf-dog he hated the most in the entire world. Steele smiled in extreme anticipation. He knew that only one dog could walk away from this fight. And everyone in Nome already knew who the victor would be.

"Hello Bingo, long time, no see", Steele sneered.

Standing up on all four feet, Steele eagerly sauntered forward, poised to kill.

TO BE CONTINUED...

**((()-()))**

**_Author's Note_**:

Well, it seems that after nine chapters, we've come in a full circle. By now, I'm sure some of you are feeling cheated, or that you waited six weeks for another cliffhanger/cop-out, but I have still have one last part left to tell. "**_Salvation, Part 3_**" will be posted in January, and will conclude every story arc left unresolved in Parts 1 and 2, including Balto and Jenna's engagement, Daniel's unwarranted hatred for Balto, Gunnar's undying faith in his team, Steele's plan for vengeance, Doc's mixed breeding, Samuel's abusive drinking, Rosie's ailment, and Blaze's mysterious affair. Some endings may seem obvious and clichéd, while others may be completely unexpected, but either way, I'm looking forward to finally wrapping up the "**_Salvation_**" trilogy. Until next time, The Cool Kat.


	10. Chapter 10: Copyright

**_Copyrights:_**

A small list of people who so generously allowed me to include elements from their own work in my "**_Heritage of the Wolf_**" series.

**((()-()))**

**_Copyright:_**

1. Balto, Jenna, Steele, Nikki, Kaltag, Star, Dixie, Sylvie, Boris, Muk, Luk, Rosie, Morse, Gunnar Kaasen, and Doc are copyrighted to Universal Studios and Amblin Animation.

2. Jared is copyrighted to Cyberwulfe and are not to be used without his permission.

3. Evelyn Jones, Thomas Jones, Joseph Jones, James Avery, Samuel Edwards, Ethan, Billy, Daniel Sutherland, Blaze, Grace, Derek, Jimmy, Mac, and Rocky are copyrighted to The Cool Kat, and are not to be used without my permission.

**((()-()))**

**_Licensing:_**

1. "**_Doctor Who XI_**, **_Amy in the TARDIS_**, **_The Mad Man With A Box_**, **_I Am The Doctor_**, and **_A Useful Striker_**", are copyrighted to Silva Records and BBC studios.

2. "**_I Wanna Know You_**" is copyrighted to Walt Disney Records.

2. "**_Save Me_**", is copyrighted to Warner Records and Elektra Entertainment.

3. "**_Only in America_**" is copyrighted to Arista Records.


End file.
